Court Opinion

ID: 9568415
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 20:03:24.737969+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T10:24:43.533008
License: Public Domain

Smolensk!, J.
(concurring in part and dissenting in part). I concur with the majority’s distinction between murder and manslaughter. However, I dissent from the result reached by the majority. I believe that sufficient evidence of malice was presented in this case.
The collision in this case occurred at the intersection of Grand Traverse and Atherton Roads in Flint. Grand Traverse proceeds north and south while Atherton proceeds east and west. There is an 1-475 exit that feeds traffic onto southbound Grand Traverse approximately three hundred to four hundred feet before Grand Traverse intersects with Atherton. Both Grand Traverse and Atherton are four-lane highways with a posted speed limit of thirty-five miles per hour. At the time of the collision, a double-headed traffic signal was located at the intersection that cycled red, yellow, and green for both roads. Road conditions at the time of the collision were dry and the traffic signals were operating normally.
The collision occurred on July 21, 1988, at approximately 11:30 P.M. when defendant’s vehicle, which was traveling south on Grand Traverse at between sixty and seventy miles per hour, failed to stop at a red light on Grand Traverse and broadsided the victims’ *695vehicle, which was eastbound on Atherton. Alcohol was detected on defendant’s breath at the scene of the collision. Approximately three hours after the collision, a blood sample was taken from defendant and a test indicated that defendant’s blood alcohol level was 0.18 percent. Thus far, the facts are indistinguishable from the facts of People v Goecke, 215 Mich App 623, 624-625; 547 NW2d 338 (1996), and, under the majority’s analysis, do not constitute sufficient evidence of malice.
However, an examination of all the facts leads me to conclude that this case does not simply involve evidence of drunk driving and the behavior incident thereto. Evidence was presented that defendant’s residence was located on Grand Traverse approximately one mile south of the intersection. Thus, viewing this evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, the jury could have inferred that at the time of the collision defendant was heading home and, more importantly, that he was familiar with the area, including the existence of the intersection at Grand Traverse and Atherton and the traffic signal at that intersection.
Evidence was also presented concerning the extreme force of the collision. During the collision, defendant’s vehicle rode up on top of the victims’ vehicle. The victims’ vehicle eventually overturned and came to rest on its top. The female victim was found lying on the road. One of the female victim’s arms was completely severed and also found lying on the road. The responding police officer testified that he could not ascertain signs of life from either victim. Thus, viewing this evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, the jury could have inferred that *696defendant had been traveling at a speed even greater than sixty to seventy miles per hour, as estimated by the witnesses.
Finally, I find critical to this case the testimony of Kerrie Kachel. At trial, Kachel testified that on the night of the collision she was driving east on Atherton when she proceeded through a green light at the intersection of Atherton and Grand Traverse. Kachel testified that her fiancee was following her in another car and that a vehicle was also traveling beside her vehicle. Kachel testified that when her vehicle was approximately three-quarters of the way through the intersection, she saw a pair of headlights coming toward her from a vehicle traveling on Grand Traverse. Kachel testified that the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed and was not stopping for the red light on Grand Traverse. Kachel testified that she estimated that the vehicle was traveling faster than sixty-five miles per hour on the basis of the humming of its tires, which she could hear even though her windows were up, and the suddenness with which the vehicle appeared to be coming through the intersection. Kachel testified that she was afraid that the vehicle would hit her. Kachel testified that she passed through the intersection and then heard a loud crash behind her. Kachel testified that the vehicle passed within three feet of her vehicle and between her vehicle and her fiancee’s vehicle, which was following approximately one car length behind her. Viewing this evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, the jury could have found that defendant had been able to see both the red light on Grand Traverse and the vehicles in the middle of the intersection on Atherton. The jury could have further found that defend*697ant did not attempt to stop, but instead continued speeding through the intersection.
Thus, summarizing the evidence, defendant, while extremely intoxicated and driving at a high rate of speed in an area with which he was familiar, did not attempt to stop at a red light and drove into an intersection where crossing traffic was lawfully proceeding through the intersection on a green light. Accordingly, viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, I believe sufficient evidence was presented that defendant did act in wanton and wilful disregard of the likelihood that the natural tendency of such behavior was to cause death or great bodily harm. The jury was appropriately instructed with regard to the element of malice in this case. I would affirm its verdict.