Opinion ID: 1819366
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the fatal collision

Text: According to a witness who was with Hoffman on February 18, 1986, while the two were working together on a car, Hoffman drank at least 2 pints of root beer schnapps between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on that date. At approximately 4:30 p.m. on February 18, Hoffman was involved in an automobile accident on Sun Valley Boulevard, a north-south thoroughfare with a speed limit of 45 miles per hour, in Lincoln, Nebraska. Another witness saw the Hoffman car as it came around a curve from O Street and proceeded north on Sun Valley Boulevard. As that witness watched, Hoffman drove onto a concrete median or lane-divider on Sun Valley, where Hoffman's car struck a metal sign embedded in the median and knocked the sign into the southbound lane of Sun Valley. Hoffman's car continued north at an estimated speed of 65 miles per hour and began its ascent of an inclined viaduct or overpass for Sun Valley. A southbound motorist had to drive at the extreme right to avoid colliding with the accelerating Hoffman car, still headed north. As it neared the crest of the viaduct, Hoffman's car struck the left rear of a northbound pickup truck driven by Joseph P. Engler. After striking the Engler pickup, Hoffman's car skidded into the southbound lane on Sun Valley and collided head on with a car driven by Lana Wagner. The impact crushed the front end of both vehicles and compressed the driver's area of the Wagner car. As the result of severe injuries received in the collision, Lana Wagner died at the scene. After the collision, root beer schnapps bottles were found in Hoffman's car. At 5:15 p.m. on February 18, Officer Bassett of the Lincoln Police Department arrived at the hospital to which Hoffman had been taken on account of injuries sustained in the collision, where the officer found Hoffman conscious, alert, and responding to questions from medical personnel. Officer Bassett detected the odor of alcohol on Hoffman's breath and, while reading the Implied Consent Advisement Form to Hoffman, noted that Hoffman had difficulty in focusing his watery, reddened eyes. Hoffman was abusive and uncooperative toward the officer, but, nevertheless, Officer Bassett obtained a sample of Hoffman's blood for testing at the Nebraska State Patrol laboratory. Test results on Hoffman's blood sample showed that Hoffman had thirty-nine hundredths of 1 percent by weight of alcohol in his blood at the time Hoffman's car collided with the Wagner vehicle. Officer Bassett expressed his opinion that Hoffman was intoxicated when the officer contacted Hoffman at the hospital. The parties stipulated that, if Hoffman were a witness at his trial, he would testify that he did not intend to cause Lana Wagner's death. A National Safety Council publication indicated that a person with a blood-alcohol content of .40 would have passed out. As exhibits, appropriate copies of court records showed Hoffman's four previous convictions for drunk driving in violation of § 39-669.07.