Court Opinion

ID: 9739852
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 20:22:20.984413+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:14.263335
License: Public Domain

Mr. JUSTICE CARTER, dissenting: The testimony of the witnesses for the prosecution all pointed to the fact that the defendant was traveling at an excessive rate of speed just prior to the accident. There was also testimony that defendant’s car was following too closely behind the motorcycle. Driving at an excessive rate of speed and following too closely, in conjunction with other circumstances indicating a conscious disregard of a substantial risk likely to cause great bodily harm or death, justifies a finding of recklessness. People v. Prendergast, 95 Ill. App. 2d 41. The case presented by the prosecution and the testimony of the defendant that he had a lapse of memory and remembers nothing from the time of the impact to the time he was awakened 3 hours later were more than sufficient to sustain the jury’s verdict that the defendant was guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Since the defendant was convicted of both reckless homicide and involuntary manslaughter arising from the same facts, I would vacate the conviction for the lesser offense of reckless homicide. I would affirm the conviction of involuntary manslaughter.