State v. Hopkins

147 Wash. 198 (1928)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D was the proprietor of, and lived at, a small hotel. She also owned the Studebaker automobile involved in the accident. D and John Doe were charged with the crime of manslaughter. It was alleged that John Doe, his true name being unknown, by his wilful, reckless, and unlawful driving of an automobile caused the death of Lois Ames. D was charged with aiding and abetting John Doe in the death. D was the owner of the automobile and also a passenger therein. It was alleged that D knew John Doe to be intoxicated, and wilfully and unlawfully entrusted the operation of the automobile to John Doe. D admitted to the police officers that she had taken two or three drinks of whiskey earlier in the evening. Just prior to the accident, a witness noticed that D's car passed dangerously close and turned quickly to the right in front of the car of the witness, requiring some care on the part of the witness to avoid a collision at that time. According to other witnesses, D's car was driven in a very erratic and apparently reckless manner at from twenty-five to thirty miles per hour. It collided with the Ames car resulting in the death of a little girl. D's car was being driven on the wrong side of the pavement at the time of the accident. John Doe, aka Jimmie Burns, disappeared from the scene of the collision very soon after its occurrence. At the scene when questioned, D was reported to have said after learning of the death, 'I told him that he could not drive.' D was convicted of manslaughter and appealed.