Intersectorial

Fatal Accident, and Death

This case is about the death of a bicyclist, Mr. Chuck Edwards, due to head-on collision by a pickup truck driven by Mr. Jim Johnson and with Mr. Bob Baskey as his passenger.

The wife of Mr. Edwards is suing the insurance company of Jim Johnson and HoHo bar.

17.4.2 Medical Aspects: Synergistic Toxicity of Alcohol and Marijuana

It is well established that alcohol can cause intoxication of the driver of a motor vehicle. This is further enhanced by the simultaneous use of marijuana.

17.4.3 Factual Background

This fatal accident happened during the early morning hours of July 31, 2000.

It appears that Mr. Chuck Edwards was riding his bicycle south on Route 99.

A 1966 Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by Mr. Jim Johnson with Mr. Bob Baskey as the passenger, going north on Route 99, struck the bicyclist head-on. Mr. Edwards was thrown off of his bicycle, struck the pickup truck, and landed in a ditch on the east side of the road. Mr. Johnson and his passen-ger fled the scene leaving Mr. Edwards with multiple injuries to die. The fire

department located the body at 6:10 a.m. and the coroner pronounced him dead at the scene at 7:10 a.m.

The driver of the pickup truck, Mr. Johnson is a Caucasian male, 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing 200 pounds on the day of the accident. He came back from work at 1:00 p.m. and drank four beers in a tavern. He went to a pub at 3:00 p.m. and drank two beers. He went to a Pizza Hut at 4:30 p.m. and drank a pitcher of beer (equivalent to four beers) and ate pizza. He went home at 6:00 p.m. and stayed there for an hour. He then went to the apartment of his friend, Mr. Hunter, at 7:00 p.m. At 8:00 p.m. he borrowed Mr. Hunter’s pickup truck and drove 12 miles to Reion City and arrived at HoHo Bar at 8:30 p.m.

He then started drinking several more beers and alcoholic beverages, includ-ing White Russians. He smoked marijuana and continued drinking more alcoholic beverages until he left the bar at 1:00 a.m. with Mr. Baskey as his passenger. It became evident during the police investigation that Vicki and Steven Dinado were at HoHo Bar from 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. They observed that Mr. Johnson was visibly intoxicated and yet he was being served alco-holic beverages by the bartenders. They noted that Mr. Johnson had difficulty standing up and was losing his balance. He was stumbling. He had blood-shot eyes and experienced difficulty focusing his eyesight. He appeared close to passing out. He left the bar with Mr. Baskey at approximately 1:00 a.m.

and drove the pickup truck on the back roads to avoid the police. He struck Mr. Edwards at 1:30 a.m., resulting in his multiple traumas and death. After fleeing the scene, Mr. Johnson went to Mr. Hunter’s apartment where the police picked him up, took him to the hospital, and had his blood drawn at 8:11 a.m. The blood was analyzed for alcohol by a headspace GC at the state police laboratory at Pearie. His BAC was 0.069%.

17.4.4 Blood Alcohol Concentration

As stated before, BAC depends on several factors including the number of alcoholic beverages consumed, their alcoholic content, and the time lapse between the time at which the last drink was consumed and time at which blood was drawn. In addition, the age, gender of a person, body weight, med-ications, health, and co-abuse of drugs also influence BAC. A normal healthy 200-pound man is expected to reach a BAC of 20 mg/dl or 0.02% with one alcoholic drink. Alcohol is dissipated from blood at a rate of 0.02% per hour (7,10-12). Based on the available evidence, the level of intoxication of the defendant needs to be established.

Based on the evidence from the deposition testimony of Vicki and Steven Dinado, the pickup truck driver, Jim Johnson, is a confirmed chronic alco-holic who co-abuses marijuana with alcohol. Mr. Johnson started drinking several alcoholic beverages at 1:30 p.m. on July 30, 2000. He continued to drink in HoHo Bar until he left at 1:00 a.m. on July 31, 2000 with his passenger

Mr. Baskey. He admitted that he was severely intoxicated, he smoked mari- juana, and he drove on back roads to avoid the police. The deposition testi-mony of Vicki and Steven Dinado indicated that Mr. Johnson was present at the HoHo Bar from 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. According to them, Mr. Johnson was visibly intoxicated and yet he was continued to be served alcoholic bever- ages by the bartenders. Mr. Johnson was unsteady on his feet, staggering, los-ing his balance, and had watery and bloodshot eyes. All of these symptoms are consistent with severe alcohol intoxication (7,10-12). The BAC of Mr. Johnson determined at 8:10 a.m. was 0.069%. Based on the available evidence, it is pos-sible to determine the following:

1. BAC of Mr. Johnson at the time of the accident.

2. Level of Mr. Johnson’s intoxication.

3. Mr. Johnson’s BAC between the hours of 9:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.

when Vicki and Steven Dinado observed him.

4. Mr. Johnson’s BAC when he left the HoHo bar at 1:00 a.m.

Since alcohol dissipates from blood at a rate of 0.02% per hour, it is pos-sible to calculate Mr. Johnson’s BAC at various time intervals as follows:

Date Time (h) BAC (%) Comments

7/30/2000 8:30 p.m. 0.10 Arrived at HoHo Bar 9:00 p.m. 0.16

10:00 p.m. 0.27 11:00 p.m. 0.25 12:00 a.m. 0.25

7/31/2000 1:00 a.m. 0.21 Left HoHo Bar

1:30 a.m. 0.20 Accident

2:00 a.m. 0.19 3:00 a.m. 0.17 4:00 a.m. 0.15 5:00 a.m. 0.13 6:00 a.m. 0.11 7:00 a.m. 0.09 8:00 a.m 0.07 8:10 a.m. 0.069

Mr. Johnson started drinking alcohol in the afternoon on July 30, 2000.

The number of beers was considerable and the resulting BAC at any given time would be influenced by the alcoholic intake and its dissipation from blood. He entered the HoHo Bar at approximately 8:30 p.m. and his BAC on his arrival at the HoHo Bar is estimated to be around 0.1%. He started drinking beer and

White Russians and by 10:00 p.m., his BAC was estimated to be 0.27%. This is consistent with the observations made by other witnesses at the bar. When Mr. Johnson left the bar, his BAC was expected to be 0.21% and at the time of accident, his BAC was 0.2%, twice the legal limit. At these blood alcohol levels, a person would be expected to show loss of motor coordination, loss of visual acuity, disorientation, mental confusion, staggering, dizziness, decreased sen- sory response, and increased reaction times. Clearly, Mr. Johnson was inca-pable of driving a motor vehicle, and the accident was due to his irresponsible behavior. The death of Mr. Edwards was unnecessary.

17.4.5 Conclusions

It can be concluded with a reasonable degree of scientific certainty that:

1. Mr. Johnson was highly intoxicated with alcohol and marijuana. His BAC at the time of the fatal accident was twice the legal limit and as such was unfit to drive a motor vehicle.

2. When Mr. Johnson arrived at the HoHo Bar, he was legally intoxi-cated. He showed visible signs of alcohol intoxication as corroborated by the sworn testimony of the patrons present at the bar. The HoHo Bar was irresponsible in serving alcoholic drinks to Mr. Johnson, who was exhibiting symptoms of severe alcohol intoxication.

17.5 DUI, Two-Car Collision, and Vehicular Homicide