State v. Frowein
State v. Frowein
Opinion of the Court
The state did not file a brief. Practice Book § 1015. The defendant, following his conviction, appealed, assigning error in the court’s conclusion that the defendant, upon all the evidence, was guilty of the crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt. No finding was requested. Pursuant to the defendant’s assignment of error we turn to the evidence. Aside from the defendant’s speed, the facts are not in serious dispute.
The defendant was operating his motor vehicle in a westerly direction on Asylum Avenue near its intersection with Cumberland Road, in West Hartford, at approximately 5:55 p.m. on November 7, 1963. The surface of the road was damp, and it was
There was conflicting evidence on the part of the state as to the posted speed limit in this area. One
The trial court concluded that the defendant was guilty of a violation of § 14-222 of the General Statutes. There are two sentences contained in subsection (a) of this statute, and each clearly states a separate interdict. The first sentence prohibits the operating of a motor vehicle upon a public highway of the state recklessly, having regard to the width, traffic and use of the highway, the intersection of streets and the weather conditions. The second sentence provides: “The operation of a motor vehicle upon any such highway at such a rate of speed as to endanger the life of any person other than an occupant of such motor vehicle . . . shall constitute a violation of the provisions of this section.” Since the complaint alleged “[violation of Section 14-222 Reckless Driving,” it follows that the state was not
Under the prohibition of the first sentence, the state is required to show reckless or wanton misconduct. In Brock v. Waldron, 127 Conn. 79, 84, in which the plaintiff alleged reckless, careless and negligent operation of the defendant’s automobile, the court, after summarizing the law on the subject of reckless or wanton misconduct, quoted as follows from Vanderkruik v. Mitchell, 118 Conn. 625, 631: “ ‘In short, the evidence discloses that the primary cause of the collision was the thoughtless and careless maintenance of high speed at a point where due care required that it be reduced, but as held, in effect, in . . . [Ascher v. H. E. Friedman, Inc., 110 Conn. 1] speed alone does not spell a reckless operation of the car within the meaning of the statute.’ One is guilty of reckless misconduct when ‘knowing or having reason to know of facts which would lead a reasonable man to realize that the actor’s conduct not only creates an unreasonable risk of bodily harm to the other but also involves a high degree of probability that substantial harm will result to him.’ Eestatement, 2 Torts, § 500.” There is no finding of a persistent course of conduct, nor of conduct persisted in after a warning of danger. There is nothing to indicate that there was any more of a likelihood that pedestrians would cross at the Cumberland Eoad intersection than is present at any street intersection. The questions of lookout, control and warning are in the same category. In Mooney v. Wabrek, 129 Conn. 302, 308, in which the plaintiff alleged recklessness and negligence, the court said: “Eecklessness is a state of consciousness with reference to the consequences of one’s acts .... It ‘requires a conscious choice of a course of action either with knowledge of the serious danger to others involved in it or with knowledge of facts
The second sentence also sets forth conduct which constitutes a violation of the statute; it contains two essential elements: (1) operation of a motor vehicle (2) at such a rate of speed as to endanger the life of any person other than an occupant of the vehicle. Under this provision, driving recklessly might be established by facts which would prove that life was endangered, without showing, as is necessary under the first sentence, that the operator was acting without regard to consequences. State v. Andrews, 108 Conn. 209, 214; State v. Kulbarsh, 124 Conn. 265, 270; 7 Am. Jur. 2d 822, Automobiles and Highway Traffic, § 273; note, 86 A.L.R. 1273. In the present case, a violation could be found if the speed at which the defendant operated his vehicle created a reasonable probability of danger to the life of any person other than an occupant of his vehicle and if the defendant was by reason of such speed, in whole or in part, the cause of that danger. Commonwealth v. Mara, 257 Mass. 198, 210; Commonwealth v. Vartanian, 251 Mass. 355, 358. The operation of a motor vehicle in violation of this provision alone constitutes the offense, regardless of the intent with which
It is conceded that the defendant was the operator of the motor vehicle; thus the remaining question is whether the speed at which he operated was such as would endanger the life of any person other than an occupant of the defendant’s vehicle. The state, in its argument, has placed great stress on the defendant’s speed at the time of the accident. Although the speed at that time was relevant, the state, in the sequence of events, was not limited to establishing the speed at any given point. Since the issue concerned a motor vehicle in motion, a violation of the statute could be claimed, within the limitations of the evidence, at any point on Asylum Avenue. There was no direct evidence of the defendant’s speed in the area of the accident. For proof of the defendant’s speed, the state relied on the testimony of St. Jean, who estimated the defendant’s speed at the point where the defendant passed him, some 600 feet distant from the place of the accident. See Clement v. DelVecchio, 140 Conn. 274, 277. Speed alone is not a violation of § 14-222 but only becomes so when it endangers the life of any person other than an occupant of the vehicle. The presumption of innocence protects an accused until and unless the state has produced enough evidence to justify the trier in finding guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. McDonough, 129 Conn. 483, 487.
There is error, the judgment is set aside and the case is remanded with direction to render judgment that the defendant is not guilty and ordering that he be discharged.
In this opinion Jacobs and Kinmonth, Js., concurred.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.