Opinion ID: 2165543
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Sufficiency of the EvidenceFollowing Too Closely

Text: Pike challenges the sufficiency of the evidence underlying his conviction for following too closely. When the sufficiency of the evidence is challenged in a criminal case, appellate review is limited to whether there is sufficient evidence from which a reasonable trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Chaney, 967 S.W.2d 47, 52 (Mo. banc 1998). An appellate court considers the evidence, including all reasonable inferences therefrom, in the light most favorable to the judgment and disregards all contrary inferences. Id. The trial court found Pike guilty of violating section 304.017, RSMo 2000, which states: [t]he driver of a vehicle shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonably safe and prudent, having due regard for the speed of such vehicle and the traffic upon and the condition of the roadway. The trooper testified that he did not observe any slowing of the first vehicle as it passed him. Although he acknowledged that the vehicle could have gradually slowed down in response to his presence, he did not observe a drastic reduction in speed. He estimated that Pike was following about one car length behind the first vehicle. The incident occurred early in the morning, when it was dark, and when one lane of the road was closed due to construction. The trooper believed that the vehicles were traveling between 45 and 55 miles per hour when they passed him. This evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the judgment, was sufficient to sustain Pike's conviction. As a Highway Patrol officer, the trooper was accustomed to observing traffic. He believed that Pike's vehicle was too close to the vehicle in front, when considering the speed of the vehicles and the road conditions. The evidence supports this belief.