Byars v. State
Byars v. State
Opinion of the Court
“The admission of irrelevant testimony, where it is not shown that it was also prejudicial, does not constitute reversible error.” Lanier v. State, 187 Ga. 534 (2) (1 S. E. 2d 405). The testimony objected to was admitted on the theory that it was a circumstance tending to show the condition of the defendant’s automobile after the wreck. The witness stated that the whole front end of the automobile was mashed in, but neither he nor any other witness testified to any facts from which the jury might infer that the crash would cause the speedometer to stick at the speed at which the automobile was traveling at the time of impact, and for this reason such evidence standing alone would be a very dangerous basis for a jury inference that the car was in fact traveling at that speed. However, an eyewitness, Knox Wyatt, testified that he stopped at an intersection for a red light and that the defendant’s car then passed him at a speed of at least 75 miles per hour, hit the Toles car and knocked it into the air and then proceeded down the highway 50 or 75 feet.
The trial court did not err in denying the motion for a new trial.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.