Fretwell v. State
Fretwell v. State
Opinion
W.D. Fretwell was convicted of "leaving the scene of an accident" pursuant to *Page 1013
§§
It is undisputed that W.D. Fretwell hit two little girls who were walking along a dirt road with the automobile which he was driving while in rural Franklin County. Both girls were injured. The older girl (an eleven-year-old) picked up her four-year-old companion, who was severely injured, and carried her to a house nearby for help.
The State's evidence proved that Fretwell was drunk at the time of the accident, and that the two children were not on the highway right-of-way when he hit them. The older girl injured in the accident and Willie Abernathy, an eyewitness who rendered assistance to the injured children, testified that after Fretwell left the road and hit the two girls, he swerved back onto the road and kept going. Both witnesses did state that he returned ten minutes later. He appeared to be very drunk and left again after a few minutes when Abernathy agreed that he should leave.
Before leaving, Fretwell told Abernathy not to call "the law".
As he left, Fretwell passed the ambulance coming to the scene. He was subsequently arrested by local authorities when he was stopped with a road block after being pursued for about a mile by a police car with its blue light flashing. The arresting officers also testified that he was highly intoxicated.
Fretwell's own testimony was the only evidence in defense. He testified that the two girls ran out in front of him while he was driving in the middle of the road. He stated that he saw them well in advance of the accident and had slowed down from approximately 40 miles per hour to about 15 miles per hour, but was unable to avoid them when they darted out in front of his car. He stated that he had had nothing to drink that morning prior to the accident.
He further stated that he stopped immediately to render assistance and walked with the older girl as she carried the younger girl to the nearby house for assistance. The older girl would not let him "help" so he returned to his automobile and drank a pint of whiskey and then returned to where Mr. Abernathy and several others were attending the injured four-year-old.
Fretwell testified that he left within a few minutes and before the police or the ambulance arrived because several residents of that "black" community had begun to threaten him, a "white" man. In fact, the older child (the eleven-year-old) that he had run over, had hit him on the head "a hundred times."
Mr. Fretwell did not leave his name, address or vehicle registration number with anyone at the scene. However, Mr. Abernathy, the eyewitness, did know Mr. Fretwell by name.
On appeal, appellant insists that the evidence does not support his conviction and that the trial court erred in refusing two of his written requested jury charges.
Certainly these factors, if believed by the jury, might have exonerated the appellant. However, there was also evidence that the appellant was very intoxicated when he ran over the little girls, that he did not stop to render aid, and that he returned ten minutes later only to plead with Mr. Abernathy not to report him to the police. He also left when he heard the ambulance siren, and the police had to chase him and eventually stop him with a road block. This evidence is more than sufficient to support a jury's determination that appellant indeed violated §
Appellant further insists, however, that the evidence of his failure to stop and immediately return to the scene of the accident should have been excluded pursuant to his general "motion to exclude" at the close of the State's case. He reasons on appeal that this evidence should have been excludedbecause the trial court never instructed the jury accordingly. (His argument in this regard is not abundantly clear, but it appears that he is claiming error in the denial of his motion to exclude because of an inadequate oral charge which was delivered long after his motion was denied).
In any event, he explains that §
This stop and return requirement is covered only in §
However, the indictment, which from aught that appears in the record was read to the jury, clearly stated that the appellant was charged with failing "to stop immediately" (the requirement of §
Appellant presents no evidence that the jury was in any way confused or misled by the trial court's instructions and he did not request any detailed instructions with reference §
In effect, we are asked to overturn the jury's verdict, which we decline to do.
This record is free of error and the judgment below is hereby affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
All the Judges concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- W.D. Fretwell v. State.
- Cited By
- 4 cases
- Status
- Published