People v. Olsen
1 N.Y.S.3d 555, 124 A.D.3d 1084 (2015)
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Rule of Law:
A combination of unsafe driving maneuvers, such as erratic and dangerous passing, coupled with distracted driving, such as using a cell phone, can constitute the 'seriously blameworthy carelessness' required to support a conviction for criminally negligent homicide.
Facts:
- Defendant was driving her sport utility vehicle northbound on a two-lane county road on her way to ride horses with a friend.
- The friend sent defendant text messages chiding her for running late for their meeting.
- Witnesses observed defendant swerving in and out of her lane and passing several vehicles in a dangerous manner.
- During one passing maneuver, defendant forced an oncoming vehicle in the southbound lane off the road to avoid a head-on collision.
- Witnesses also observed defendant looking down as she was driving, holding an item at the top of her steering wheel, and moving her hands and thumbs.
- Defendant lost control of her vehicle, causing it to travel off the road, onto the front lawn of a property, and fatally strike the victim.
- After the crash, defendant's cell phone was located on the floor of the front passenger seat.
Procedural Posture:
- Defendant was charged in an eight-count indictment in the County Court of Washington County.
- A nonjury trial (bench trial) was conducted in the County Court.
- The County Court found the defendant guilty of criminally negligent homicide, reckless driving, use of a portable electronic device, and failure to keep right.
- The County Court sentenced defendant to 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison for the criminally negligent homicide conviction.
- Defendant, as the appellant, appealed the judgment to this intermediate appellate court, challenging the convictions and the sentence.
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Issue:
Does evidence of a driver erratically and unsafely passing multiple vehicles while simultaneously being distracted by a cell phone constitute conduct that is sufficiently blameworthy to support a conviction for criminally negligent homicide against the weight of the evidence?
Opinions:
Majority - Devine, J.
Yes, evidence that a driver engaged in erratic and unsafe passing while being distracted by a cell phone is sufficient to support a conviction for criminally negligent homicide. The court found that the defendant's 'haphazard weaving among vehicles' constituted reckless driving. Furthermore, witness testimony about the defendant looking down and moving her thumbs, combined with the fact she had received text messages and her phone was found in the car, allowed for a reasonable inference of cell phone use. Viewing these actions together—unsafe passing, erratic driving, and cell phone distraction—the court concluded that the defendant's conduct demonstrated the kind of 'seriously blameworthy carelessness' whose danger would be 'apparent to anyone who shares the community’s general sense of right and wrong,' thus supporting the criminally negligent homicide conviction.
Analysis:
This decision reinforces that the mental state for criminally negligent homicide can be established through a cumulative series of dangerous and distracting actions. It clarifies that a court can infer cell phone use from circumstantial evidence, even without a direct admission or proof of a sent message. The case serves as a strong precedent for prosecutors in cases involving distracted driving, illustrating that combining evidence of aggressive driving with evidence of cell phone use can elevate a fatal accident from a traffic violation to a homicide conviction.
