Opinion ID: 1925210
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Introduction of Accident Report.

Text: The appellants contend that the trial court erred in refusing to admit into evidence the accident report which contained a statement attributable to Mr. Voigt. We conclude that the trial court properly rejected the offer of this report into evidence. The statement was taken about a half hour after the accident by Deputy Sheriff Joe Norris, who interviewed Mr. Voigt at the hospital. Norris submitted his accident report to the county sheriff's office, but he died before the trial. Under the heading remarks, Norris reported Mr. Voigt's statement that the Voigt car slid into the west lane, into the path of the Beaton car. The demise of the deputy sheriff before the trial effectively foreclosed Voigt's counsel from any cross-examination. It was thus impossible for counsel to test the circumstances under which the officer took the statement and the mechanics which he employed to incorporate the statement on the final report which he filed with the sheriff's department. It was also impossible to test the correctness or accuracy of the remark charged to Mr. Voigt. The matter covered in the statement went to the heart of the issue at trial. We consider that the absence of the right to cross-examine was critical. We have carefully considered sec. 327.18, Stats. (official records of public officers), and sec. 327.25 (business entries in the usual course of business), and we are persuaded that neither of these sections authorizes the admissibility of the report when objection is made as it was in the instant case.