People v. Rideout

272 Mich.App. 602, 727 N.W.2d 630 (2006)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

At 2:00 a.m. on November 23, 2003, D was driving his SUV. He attempted to turn onto another road and drove into the path of an oncoming car driven by Jason Reichelt. After it hit D's SUV, Reichelt's car spun 180 degrees, coming to rest on the centerline of the road. The SUV came to rest on the side of the road. D had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.16, which is twice the legal limit. Reichelt and his passenger, Jonathan Keiser, were not seriously injured, but Reichelt's car was severely damaged, and the headlights stopped working. Both men left the car and walked to the SUV to determine if anyone was injured. After speaking briefly with defendant, the two men walked back to Reichelt's car. Reichelt indicated that he was aware that oncoming cars could hit his darkened car and that he wanted to determine if he could turn on the flashers. As Reichelt and Keiser stood by the car, an oncoming car driven by Tonya Welch hit Keiser, killing him. D was convicted and on appeal argues that not only did the trial court improperly instruct the jury on causation, there was also insufficient evidence of causation to establish guilt.