Case Name: Kevin M. EVERETT, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1983-08-05
Citations: 435 So. 2d 955
Docket Number: No. AK-259
Parties: Kevin M. EVERETT, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Judges: WIGGINTON, J., concurs.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 435
Pages: 955–961

Head Matter:
Kevin M. EVERETT, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. AK-259.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.
Aug. 5, 1983.
William W. Corry and Dana C. Mathews, Tallahassee, for appellant.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., and Wallace A. Allbritton, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, for appellee.

Opinion:
SHIVERS, Judge.
Everett appeals his conviction and sentence for vehicular homicide and attempted leaving the scene of an accident. Appellant has raised several points on appeal, only two of which merit discussion. Appellant argues that the trial court erred in refusing to grant appellant's requested jury instructions on jay-walking and in refusing to allow evidence of decedent's blood alcohol level. We find that the trial court committed no reversible error and affirm.
Everett was a student at Tallahassee Community College. On Wednesday, April 1, 1981, Everett and four other boys spent the evening at Tommy's Deep South Music Hall on the West Tennessee Street strip in Tallahassee. Three pitchers of beer were ordered during the evening and consumed among the five boys. Everett testified that he consumed approximately four or five glasses of beer. There was testimony that Everett was "nursing" his beer that evening. During a band break, at approximately 10:30 P.M., the five boys walked out to the parking lot at Tommy's and shared a single "joint" of marijuana. Everett was observed to take two or three puffs. Three of the boys, Everett, his brother Scott, and Valdeen Fletcher, left Tommy's around 12:30 or 1:00 A.M. April 2, 1981. Everett testified that he was not intoxicated at that time either from alcohol or from marijuana. The three boys decided that Everett should drive his brother's 1977 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Although Everett's driver's license restricts him to driving only while wearing his glasses, he was not wearing his glasses that evening. Everett's vision without glasses is 20/50 in each eye. It was a misty night and the inside of the windshield began to fog up because Scott and Valdeen lit cigarettes upon leaving the parking lot. Everett testified, however, that the defroster and windshield wipers were turned on, the inside of the windshield was wiped, and that it was clear. The boys proceeded down West Tennessee Street at about 35-40 miles per hour. The speed limit in that section was 35 miles per hour.
At the 600 block of West Tennessee Street, the Monte Carlo driven by Everett struck and killed Allen Brent England, who was attempting to cross Tennessee Street in front of the Brew and Cue Bar. England was not walking in an authorized pedestrian crosswalk, nor was he in a lighted area. Witnesses saw him step off the curb and proceed directly toward the median. Other witnesses said England could have avoided being struck if he had continued walking and had not stopped before reaching the median. Everett saw England only a split second before the impact. Valdeen "heard a thump" and said, "Kevin, I think we hit something. I think someone has been hit." Everett said, "Oh, my God."
After the impact Everett did not immediately stop, but drove to the next intersection and drove around the block. Officer Wooten, in a marked patrol car, had become alerted to the situation and followed Everett's Monte Carlo. Officer Wooten testified that the patrol car's blue and red flashing lights were activated, but the Monte Carlo did not pull over. Instead, the Monte Carlo proceeded back to the scene of the accident with the patrol car following. Once stopped, Officer Wooten approached Everett's vehicle and asked Everett to step out. Officer Wooten detected an odor of alcohol on Everett and placed him under arrest for driving under the influence. Everett testified that he was in a state of shock and had taken the shortest route possible back to where the impact occurred.
Everett was charged with manslaughter driving while intoxicated (DWI), manslaughter by culpable negligence, and leaving the scene of an accident. At the trial, the court granted appellant's motion in li-mine to exclude the results of a breathalyzer test conducted on appellant, but the court denied appellant's motion to exclude evidence pertaining to marijuana. The jury found Everett not guilty of manslaughter DWI, guilty of vehicular homicide (a lesser included offense of manslaughter by culpable negligence), and guilty of attempted leaving the scene of an accident (a lesser included offense of leaving the scene of an accident). The trial court placed Everett on five years probation.
Appellant argues that the trial court erred in not giving appellant's requested jury instructions on jay-walking. Evidence introduced at trial tended to show that the decedent was jay-walking and that under the circumstances of this case the jay-walking was a significant factor in the accident. Appellant argues that decedent's conduct may be a factor in demonstrating the absence of culpable negligence. Appellant cites Peel v. State, 291 So.2d 226 (Fla. 1st DCA), cert. denied, 298 So.2d 164 (Fla.1974), to support this argument. In Peel, this court found reversible error where the trial court failed to give a requested jury instruction on vehicles being driven on the left side of the roadway when approaching within 100 feet of or traversing any intersection. The jury in Peel could have found that decedents' automobile was in the left side of the roadway within 100 feet of the subject intersection and, thus, could have found the negligence of decedents to be solely responsible for the accident.
We are unable to agree with appellants, however, that the instant case involves a situation similar to Peel. In Filmon v. State, 336 So.2d 586 (Fla.1976), appeal dismissed, 430 U.S. 980, 97 S.Ct. 1675, 52 L.Ed.2d 375 (1977), the court discussed the proper test for determining whether the trial court has erred in refusing to give instructions concerning the negligence of decedents in prosecutions for manslaughter by culpable negligence. The court stated that the conduct of decedents can only be controlling if it were the sole proximate cause of the accident. Where there is no view of the evidence upon which the jury can reasonably conclude that the acts of decedents are the sole proximate cause of the accident, it is not error to deny jury instructions based on the actions of decedents. In the instant case, it is clear that the conduct of decedent contributed to his own demise. We do not believe, however, that a jury could reasonably conclude that decedent's conduct was the sole proximate cause of the accident. Viewing the testimony in a light most favorable to appellant, appellant had been drinking, smoking marijuana, and driving without glasses which he is required by statute to wear. It is difficult to imagine that these factors played no part in the accident. Therefore, under Fil-mon, the trial court did not err in denying the requested jury instructions.
Appellant also argues that the trial court committed reversible error in refusing to admit evidence of the decedent's blood alcohol level. The trial court found the evidence to be inadmissible hearsay because appellant could not prove that the chemical testing of decedent's blood was done in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services. Appellant contends that the evidence fell under the public records exception to the hearsay rule and cites Smith v. Mott, 100 So.2d 173 (Fla.1958).
We need not decide this hearsay question, however, since the decision of the trial court, if error, is harmless. Where an error does not affect a constitutional right, the reviewing court will find it harmless unless it is likely that, but for the erroneous ruling, the result would have been different. Palmes v. State, 397 So.2d 648 (Fla. 1981), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 882, 102 S.Ct. 369, 70 L.Ed.2d 195 (1981). The jury in the instant case had evidence before it that decedent had spent most of the evening at Bullwinkle's, another Tennessee Street bar, and that he had been drinking wine. Therefore, it is unlikely that the outcome of this case would have been different had the trial court admitted the blood alcohol evidence. •
Accordingly, the judgment is AFFIRMED.
WIGGINTON, J., concurs.
ROBERT P. SMITH, Jr., J., specially concurs with opinion.