Commonwealth v. Vink
Commonwealth v. Vink
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
This case arises as the result of an information made before a justice of the peace by an officer of the Pennsylvania State Police charging that John M. Vink unlawfully operated a tractor-trailer upon the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Metal Township, Franklin County, in violation of Section 1001 of The Vehicle Code,
While on routine patrol west at about 8:00 A.M. on March 18,1959, the officer came upon a disabled tractor-
The statutory language with which we are here concerned provides that reckless driving “is construed to include the following: “(a) Any person who drives any vehicle . . . upon a highway carelessly disregarding the rights or safety of others, or in a manner so as to endanger any person or property”. The position of
In Commonwealth v. Forrey, 172 Pa. Superior Ct. 65, 92 A. 2d 233, we held that there is an analogy between the quality of negligence necessary to characterize reckless driving as culpable negligence and the degree of negligence amounting to unlawful conduct which will support a conviction of involuntary manslaughter. In the words of Judge Hirt in the Forrey case: “What was contemplated in the language ‘carelessly disregarding the rights or safety of others or in a manner so as to endanger any person or property’ was to set the minimal requisite of the statutory offense of reckless driving at less than wilful and wanton conduct on the one hand and, on the other, something more than ordinary negligence or the mere absence of care under the circumstances. . . Conduct charging a driver with reckless driving amounting to culpable negligence under the 1951 amendment, therefore, need not be wilful or wanton; to sustain the charge however, there must be evidence of negligent acts, amounting to a careless disregard of the rights or safety of others, the consequences of which could reasonably have been foreseen by the driver of the vehicle”.
In the case at bar, there is nothing to justify a charge of careless disregard of the rights or safety of others. President Judge Deputy correctly stated: “We are bound here by the rules of the criminal law. Crimi
The question before us is not whether we approve of the method appellant adopted in attempting to solve the problem at hand, but whether his conduct under the particular circumstances constituted reckless driving. There was no evidence, and the lower court did not find, that there was any deviation or lack of control in the operation of the vehicles. Appellant and Karcher were visually in touch with each other by means of the outside mirror on the latter’s tractor. While it was necessary to release air from the brakes of the Karcher vehicle, the testimony of the Commonwealth’s own witness shows that it at no time moved away from appellant’s vehicle, and that there was no difficulty in stopping when the two vehicles finally pulled off the highway. The record clearly reveals the officer’s position that the trailer should be moved to a wider spot. Consequently, appellant’s suggestion that he was acting in furtherance of the officer’s direction is not without merit.
One incidental matter should be mentioned. Prior to Oakman’s arrival at the scene, Vink admittedly made two illegal U-turns. These violations are not charged
Having reviewed the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, and tested its sufficiency, Commonwealth v. Wright, 383 Pa. 532, 119 A. 2d 492, we have concluded that the Commonwealth did not meet its burden of proving appellant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The demurrer to the evidence should have been sustained. Cf. Commonwealth v. Fisher, 189 Pa. Superior Ct. 8, 149 A. 2d 670.
Judgment reversed.
Act of May 1, 1929, P. L. 905, section 1001, as amended, 75 P.S. 481. The Vehicle Code of 1959, Act No. 32, effective July 1, 1959, made no change in the language of this section.
Dissenting Opinion
Dissenting Opinion by
It is difficult for me to understand how anyone could doubt the guilt of the appellant in this case. The court below found the defendant guilty. I think he should have been found guilty, but the issue here is not whether we would have found him guilty, but whether there was evidence from which the hearing judge could find him guilty. Beviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, as we must, this is what we learn from it:
While the defendant was operating his tractor-trailer west on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Franklin County, he was flagged by the driver of a disabled tractor-trailer owned by his employer and stopped along the berm four or five feet from the concrete roadway. The defendant, after passing the disabled truck, made an illegal U turn on the turnpike, travelled east about 200 feet, and made another illegal TJ turn back into the westbound roadway. He then drove to the rear of the disabled tractor-trailer. The defendant and
There was no emergency. The operator of the disabled truck had sent for help. His truck was four to five feet from the concrete roadway. A turnpike employe had arrived to place warning signals, as is the custom when a disabled vehicle is less than ten feet away from the concrete roadway. The arresting police officer, who had talked to the operator of the disabled truck earlier, told him that if the repairman for which he had sent took the tractor off of the turnpike, he should have the repairman move the trailer to a place where the berm was wider so it would be at least ten feet from the concrete roadway.
The turnpike employe, but not the officer, saw the two IJ turns which the defendant admits having made. The turns were not mentioned in the information, and the charge of reckless driving inferred only to the pushing. At argument the district attorney said that he did not consider the U turns as a part of the case, because no reference was made to them in the information. The majority, adopting the district attorney’s position, ignored them. The evidence shows the IT
But whether we consider the U turns or not, I think pushing a large loaded tractor-trailer with another tractor-trailer on the turnpike for .4 of a mile without the operator of the motive power being able to see the road ahead was sufficient to enable the court below to find the defendant guilty of reckless driving.
I would affirm.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.