Todd v. State

594 So.2d 802 (1992)

Facts

Todd (D) entered a church and stole $110 from the collection plate. Richard Voegltin witnessed the theft and immediately pursued D. Voegltin had a preexisting heart condition and began to experience cardiac dysrhythmia, lost control of his car, collided with a tree at low speed and died of cardiac arrest. D was charged with manslaughter for causing the death while committing a misdemeanor; an unintended homicide which occurs during the commission of a misdemeanor is involuntary manslaughter. D filed a motion to dismiss because it could not be stated with medical certainty that Voegelin died as a result of chasing D. Voegltin was at already at a high risk of heart attack and D has no knowledge of that condition. That was not granted, and D pled guilty to the manslaughter offense with a proviso that he could appeal the non-dismissal.