State v. Bellevill

88 A.3d 918 (2014)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D was involved in a motor vehicle accident that seriously injured the child of another motorist. D was driving southbound in a Ford Explorer. Corey Pickering was driving in the opposite direction, in the northbound lane, followed by a Subaru occupied by Tressa Flanders who was in the front passenger seat. Flanders' husband, who was driving, and their son (the victim) and two daughters, who were in the back seat. It was dark and the weather was dry, clear, and cold. Pickering observed D's SUV, traveling in the opposite direction, drifting into the median lane. The SUV came within inches of Pickering's driver's side mirror and Pickering had to swerve his vehicle to avoid being hit. Pickering then saw in his rearview mirror that the SUV hit the Flanderses' Subaru. Flanders saw headlights from an oncoming vehicle and yelled to her husband to “watch out.” Her husband tried to swerve to avoid being hit, but the oncoming vehicle hit the driver's side of their car. As a result of the accident, her son sustained a traumatic brain injury, loss of “his left eye socket,” and dislocation and fracture of his jawbone. Sergeant Matthew Shapiro of the State Police arrived at the scene. He asked D whether he had made any telephone calls “either just prior to the collision or just after the collision.” D showed Shapiro his call history and Shapiro noticed that no calls were shown as having been made before the accident. Shapiro testified that he asked d about the history of calls that had occurred prior to the collision and D told him that he thought he had “erased the history or something.” Approximately eight months later, police again spoke with D and D admitted that, at the time of the accident, he was checking a text message. There was no evidence that D had either braked or taken any evasive action to avoid the vehicles prior to the collision. D was charged with second-degree assault for recklessly causing serious bodily injury to another. P introduced the records of D's cellular telephone activity from 8:50 p.m. to 9:25 p.m. D received at least two text messages between 8:51 p.m. and 9:04 p.m. D made and received calls between 8:53 p.m. and 9:05 p.m. The records showed no calling or messaging activity between 9:05 p.m. and 9:18 p.m.; thus, the records were consistent with D's admission that, at the time of the accident, he was checking a text message. D was found guilty and appealed. D claims the evidence was insufficient to prove that he acted recklessly.