State v. Knight , 31 Neb. Ct. App. 176 ( 2022 )


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  • Nebraska Supreme Court Online Library
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    07/19/2022 01:05 AM CDT
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    Nebraska Court of Appeals Advance Sheets
    31 Nebraska Appellate Reports
    STATE v. KNIGHT
    Cite as 
    31 Neb. App. 176
    State of Nebraska, appellee, v.
    Jesse O. Knight, appellant.
    ___ N.W.2d ___
    Filed July 12, 2022.     No. A-21-158.
    1. Convictions: Evidence: Appeal and Error. In reviewing a criminal
    conviction for a sufficiency of the evidence claim, whether the evidence
    is direct, circumstantial, or a combination thereof, the standard is the
    same: An appellate court does not resolve conflicts in the evidence, pass
    on the credibility of witnesses, or reweigh the evidence; such matters
    are for the finder of fact. The relevant question for an appellate court
    is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the
    prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential ele-
    ments of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.
    2. Words and Phrases. Recklessness is the disregard for or indifference to
    the safety of another or for the consequences of one’s act.
    3. Criminal Law: Motor Vehicles. Reckless driving lies somewhere
    between careless driving and willful reckless driving.
    4. ____: ____. Incidents of willful reckless driving commonly involve
    some combination of a high level of speeding that is particularly
    dangerous based on the circumstances, such as speeding on a heavily
    populated roadway; fleeing arrest; hitting other vehicles or property (or
    the threat of this occurring); road rage; driving through stop signs and
    red lights; or other forms of particularly erratic driving. On the other
    hand, reckless driving cases often involve less extreme actions, such as
    moderate speeding, erratic lane changes, and other forms of irrespon-
    sible driving.
    Appeal from the District Court for Sarpy County: Michael
    A. Smith, Judge. Affirmed.
    Joshua W. Weir, of Black & Weir Law Offices, L.L.C., for
    appellant.
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    STATE v. KNIGHT
    Cite as 
    31 Neb. App. 176
    Douglas J. Peterson, Attorney General, and Jordan Osborne
    for appellee.
    Pirtle, Chief Judge, and Riedmann and Welch, Judges.
    Pirtle, Chief Judge.
    INTRODUCTION
    Jesse O. Knight appeals from his convictions of motor
    vehicle homicide by reckless driving and reckless driving. The
    sole issue on appeal is whether the evidence was sufficient for
    the jury to find that Knight was guilty of driving recklessly,
    as opposed to the lesser-included offense of driving carelessly.
    For the following reasons, we affirm.
    BACKGROUND
    On November 16, 2020, the State filed an amended infor-
    mation charging Knight with two counts of motor vehicle
    homicide by reckless driving, in violation of 
    Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-306
    (3)(a) (Reissue 2016), and one count of reckless driv-
    ing, in violation of 
    Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6
    ,213 (Reissue 2021).
    The amended information further charged Knight with one
    count of operating a commercial motor vehicle with a canceled
    commercial motor vehicle license, in violation of 
    Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-4
    ,141(1) (Reissue 2021); however, Knight pleaded
    guilty to that charge and does not challenge that conviction
    on appeal.
    A jury trial on the State’s amended information was held
    over the course of 3 days from November 18 to 20, 2020. The
    parties entered into a stipulated set of facts establishing that
    on August 7, 2019, Knight was operating a loaded Kenworth
    dump truck traveling eastbound on Highway 370 in Sarpy
    County, Nebraska, when he collided with vehicles stopped at
    the red traffic light located at the intersection of Highway 370
    and 192d Street. Two children were killed in the collision, and
    Knight’s “unlawful operation of a motor vehicle was the proxi-
    mate cause of [death].” Furthermore, Knight caused the deaths
    of the two children “unintentionally while engaged in the
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    STATE v. KNIGHT
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    31 Neb. App. 176
    operation of a motor vehicle in violation of the law of the State
    of Nebraska.” Further stipulations will be discussed below, but
    suffice it to say that Knight stipulated he was guilty of motor
    vehicle homicide in violation of § 28-306(1). The only ques-
    tion submitted to the jury was whether Knight had been driv-
    ing recklessly and was thus guilty of the aggravated offense
    of motor vehicle homicide by reckless driving described under
    § 28-306(3)(a).
    In addition to the above, the parties further stipulated to
    the following facts: The traffic lights at the intersection of
    Highway 370 and 192d Street were fully operational and turned
    red as Knight approached the intersection. There were yellow
    warning signals placed on both sides of eastbound Highway
    370 approximately 648 feet before the intersection. The yellow
    warning signals contained a sign advising drivers to “‘prepare
    to stop when [yellow lights attached are] flashing,’” and the
    attached yellow lights were flashing when Knight passed the
    warning signals. There were two vehicles ahead of Knight’s
    dump truck in the right lane of eastbound Highway 370. Both
    vehicles came to a stop at the intersection of Highway 370 and
    192d Street and remained stopped as Knight approached the
    intersection. The first vehicle to stop at the intersection was
    a Honda Accord with one occupant, and the second vehicle
    was a Toyota Sienna with five occupants. The posted speed
    limit was 55 miles per hour, and Knight’s vehicle initially col-
    lided with the Toyota Sienna while traveling at “a minimum
    [speed] of 47 miles per hour,” ultimately killing two of the
    five occupants. Knight received a phone call at 9:32:13 a.m.
    which lasted 13 minutes 23 seconds, indicating that the call
    was ended at 9:45:36 a.m. The first 911 emergency dispatch
    service call following the collision was received by dispatch
    at 9:47:21 a.m., and the eyewitness who placed the call esti-
    mated that he made the call between 30 seconds and 1 minute
    after the collision. This estimate places the collision between
    9:46:21 a.m. and 9:46:51 a.m., approximately 1 minute after
    Knight ended the 13-minute phone call. Finally, there were no
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    STATE v. KNIGHT
    Cite as 
    31 Neb. App. 176
    signs that Knight was under the influence of any intoxicants at
    the time of the collision.
    At trial, the State adduced additional evidence relevant
    to whether Knight operated his vehicle in a reckless man-
    ner. Photographs of the scene depict the pertinent section of
    Highway 370 as a flat and straight stretch of road. Moreover,
    photographs taken shortly after the collision depict clear and
    sunny weather conditions on the day in question. Multiple eye-
    witnesses testified that Knight’s dump truck showed no signs
    of slowing down or taking evasive action as it approached the
    two vehicles stopped at the intersection, causing the witnesses
    to fear a collision was imminent.
    A Sarpy County sheriff’s deputy conducted a search of
    Knight at the scene and testified that Knight did not pos-
    sess any device for hands-free cell phone use. Another Sarpy
    County sheriff’s deputy spoke with Knight at the scene and
    testified that Knight told him that he “saw the red light and saw
    the vehicles stopped, and he hit the brakes but nothing hap-
    pened.” That deputy later clarified that Knight said not that he
    saw the light turn red, but that he “saw the red light.”
    A Sarpy County sheriff’s investigator testified that he ana-
    lyzed data from Knight’s cell phone using “Cellbrite” software,
    which was the basis for the stipulated facts related to the
    13-minute phone call. The investigator testified that the soft-
    ware collects data such as call logs, internet history, and text
    messages, but that the data collected from Knight’s cell phone
    would not show whether he was otherwise distracted by his
    phone. On cross-examination, the investigator confirmed that
    the software report also would not indicate whether Knight was
    using the speaker function on the cell phone.
    Shawn Reeh worked as a part-time mechanic for the com-
    pany that owned the Kenworth dump truck Knight was driv-
    ing, and he testified that he was responsible for inspecting
    and maintaining the truck. Reeh testified that he conducted
    yearly inspections on the truck, the most recent of which
    occurred in March 2019. The State submitted Reeh’s annual
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    STATE v. KNIGHT
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    inspection reports for the years 2016 to 2019, and Reeh testi-
    fied at length regarding the manner in which he inspected and
    maintained the brake system on the truck. In addition to the
    yearly inspections, Reeh testified he also conducted periodic
    inspections on the truck roughly once every 2 weeks. While
    Reeh could not recall the precise day on which he conducted
    the most recent inspection on the truck, he testified that it
    would have been within 2 to 3 weeks of the accident.
    Reeh testified that the truck was equipped with an airbrake
    system which uses compressed air to disengage the emergency
    or parking brakes and engage the “service brakes,” the latter of
    which operate when the driver presses the brake pedal. Reeh
    testified that the brake system is built with redundancies such
    that if there were a catastrophic loss of air pressure in the sys-
    tem, then the emergency brake would automatically engage to
    stop the truck. Reeh also noted that the system’s air compressor
    is capable of coping with minor air leaks in the system and that
    “it would have to be a large leak” for a driver to notice a loss
    of function in the service brakes.
    Trooper Cody McGee of the Nebraska State Patrol con-
    ducted a postcrash inspection on the truck, and the State
    submitted numerous photographs taken by McGee during his
    inspection. One such photograph showed a log of Knight’s
    trips on the morning in question, which log indicated that
    Knight was on his second or third trip of the day. McGee also
    discussed how the towing company had to “cage” the brakes
    to tow the truck from the scene, indicating that the emergency
    brakes were operational and engaged after the crash. McGee
    noted a number of “violations,” which he referred to as either
    “pre-crash” or “post-crash.” For example, McGee testified
    that he discovered a “small leak” in an airhose that he marked
    as a “pre-crash violation”; however, he added that he “could
    not definitively say” whether it was precash or postcrash. In
    any case, McGee testified that in his experience, small leaks
    such as that do not cause catastrophic brake failure. McGee
    opined that even if this minor leak was a precrash violation,
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    STATE v. KNIGHT
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    it would not have had any impact on the functionality of the
    service brakes. In contrast, McGee testified that he also dis-
    covered a “broken air line,” which he identified as a postcrash
    violation that would have caused catastrophic air loss from the
    braking system, as it was a “much bigger hose, and a lot more
    air comes out of that.” McGee identified a number of addi-
    tional postcrash violations in the “air tanks” and “air line[s],”
    further suggesting that the crash precipitated a catastrophic air
    loss causing the emergency brakes to engage. The day after
    the collision, McGee reconstructed the braking system and
    was able to determine that the service brakes “were working
    fine before the crash.”
    Sgt. John Mobley of the Nebraska State Patrol testified
    that he was trained as a traffic crash reconstructionist. While
    Mobley did not conduct the crash reconstruction in this case,
    he testified briefly regarding the reported minimum speed of
    47 miles per hour as stipulated by the parties. Mobley con-
    firmed that a report of a minimum speed is just that, it “is
    purely a minimum” speed required to generate the evidence
    left at the scene. Mobley explained, “What you’re doing is try-
    ing to account for all of the energy that was expended through
    braking . . . roadway friction . . . and then you also have energy
    that’s expended in the crush of . . . the two vehicles . . . .”
    Mobley added that in his training and experience, if 47 miles
    per hour was the reported minimum speed, then “typically, [the
    vehicle was] going faster than that.”
    Sgt. Kyle Percifield of the Sarpy County sheriff’s office was
    also trained as a crash reconstructionist, and he testified that he
    completed a crash reconstruction in this case. Percifield testi-
    fied that based on witness accounts, the evidence at the scene,
    and his prior experience investigating similar cases, he “was
    able to draw the conclusion that . . . Knight did not react or
    brake prior to the collision.” On cross-examination, Percifield
    acknowledged that the center of mass of the damage to the
    Toyota Sienna was located slightly to the right or passenger
    side of that vehicle, suggesting that Knight may have turned
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    STATE v. KNIGHT
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    31 Neb. App. 176
    the truck slightly to the right prior to impact. Yet, Percifield
    reiterated his assessment that there was no evidence to indicate
    Knight took evasive action prior to impact.
    While Percifield ultimately concluded that Knight wholly
    failed to brake prior to the collision, he specifically testified
    that his investigation revealed no signs of “heavy braking”
    prior to the collision. When asked about his use of the term
    “heavy braking,” Percifield confirmed that he could not rule
    out normal braking which would not have left tire marks on the
    roadway. However, Percifield explained that he was neverthe-
    less able to conclude that no braking had occurred, because it
    would not have made sense for Knight to apply normal braking
    under the circumstances of this case. That is, giving Knight the
    benefit of the doubt that he did not intend to collide with the
    stopped vehicles, Percifield concluded that upon seeing the red
    light and stopped vehicles, Knight would have applied heavy
    braking as opposed to normal braking. However, because there
    was no evidence of heavy braking prior to the collision,
    Percifield concluded that Knight failed to brake at all, indicat-
    ing either that Knight did not see the red light and stopped cars
    or that he noticed them at a point too late to stop or steer the
    truck to avoid a collision.
    Percifield testified that data collected from the Toyota
    Sienna’s airbag control module demonstrated that the truck
    was traveling “at least” 47 miles per hour at the point of
    impact. Percifield explained that the airbag control module in
    the Toyota Sienna recorded only the “longitudinal change in
    velocity,” such that the data merely indicated the minimum
    speed of impact required to account for the force exerted
    on the longitudinal axis of the vehicle running from front to
    back. Percifield further testified that because the impact was
    not “completely square,” there must have been some degree
    of “lateral forces” acting on the Toyota Sienna. These lateral
    forces, if known, would increase the impact speed required to
    account for all of the energy exerted on the vehicle. However,
    because the Toyota Sienna did not record the lateral change in
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    STATE v. KNIGHT
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    velocity, Percifield was able to determine the minimum speed
    required to account for only the longitudinal forces, which was
    47 miles per hour. Based on this and additional data collected
    from the scene, Percifield calculated that Knight would have
    needed between 229 and 242 feet of road to safely stop the
    truck. Percifield noted that there was approximately twice that
    distance (648 feet) between the flashing yellow warning sig-
    nals and the intersection where the collision occurred.
    After trial, the jury found that Knight was driving recklessly
    and thus found him guilty of two counts of motor vehicle
    homicide by reckless driving and one count of reckless driving.
    Knight appeals.
    ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR
    Knight assigns that (1) the evidence adduced at trial was
    insufficient to support convictions for motor vehicle homicide
    by reckless driving and (2) the evidence at trial was insufficient
    to support a conviction for reckless driving.
    STANDARD OF REVIEW
    [1] In reviewing a criminal conviction for a sufficiency of
    the evidence claim, whether the evidence is direct, circum-
    stantial, or a combination thereof, the standard is the same: An
    appellate court does not resolve conflicts in the evidence, pass
    on the credibility of witnesses, or reweigh the evidence; such
    matters are for the finder of fact. State v. Stack, 
    307 Neb. 773
    ,
    
    950 N.W.2d 611
     (2020). The relevant question for an appellate
    court is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most
    favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could
    have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a rea-
    sonable doubt. 
    Id.
    ANALYSIS
    Section 28-306(1) provides in pertinent part that “[a] per-
    son who causes the death of another unintentionally while
    engaged in the operation of a motor vehicle in violation of
    the law of the State of Nebraska . . . commits motor vehicle
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    homicide.” Section 28-306(2) provides that “[e]xcept as pro-
    vided in subsection (3) of this section, motor vehicle homicide
    is a Class I misdemeanor.” Section 28-306(3)(a) provides
    that “[i]f the proximate cause of the death of another is the
    operation of a motor vehicle in violation of section 60-6,213
    or 60-6,214, motor vehicle homicide is a Class IIIA felony.”
    Section 60-6,213 defines the offense of reckless driving, and
    
    Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6
    ,214 (Reissue 2021) defines the offense
    of willful reckless driving.
    As discussed above, the parties stipulated that Knight com-
    mitted motor vehicle homicide as defined in § 28-306(1). The
    only dispute at trial was whether Knight also committed the
    offense of reckless driving, thereby triggering the aggravated
    offense of motor vehicle homicide by reckless driving defined
    in § 28-306(3)(a). After trial, the jury answered that question in
    the affirmative and thus found Knight guilty of motor vehicle
    homicide by reckless driving and reckless driving. On appeal,
    Knight argues the evidence was not sufficient to find that he
    was driving recklessly, such that the jury should have merely
    found him guilty of motor vehicle homicide and careless driv-
    ing. Thus, the only question before this court is whether, view-
    ing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution,
    any rational jury could have found that Knight was driving
    recklessly beyond a reasonable doubt.
    [2-4] Under § 60-6,213, “[a]ny person who drives any
    motor vehicle in such a manner as to indicate an indiffer-
    ent or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property
    shall be guilty of reckless driving.” Recklessness is the dis-
    regard for or indifference to the safety of another or for the
    consequences of one’s act. State v. Green, 
    238 Neb. 475
    , 
    471 N.W.2d 402
     (1991). Reckless driving lies somewhere between
    careless driving and willful reckless driving. 
    Id.
     Careless driv-
    ing occurs when a person drives “without due caution so as
    to endanger a person or property.” 
    Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6
    ,212
    (Reissue 2021). Willful reckless driving occurs when a person
    drives “in such a manner as to indicate a willful disregard
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    for the safety of persons or property.” § 60-6,214. This court
    has previously observed:
    [I]ncidents of willful reckless driving commonly involve
    some combination of a high level of speeding that is par-
    ticularly dangerous based on the circumstances, such as
    speeding on a heavily populated roadway; fleeing arrest;
    hitting other vehicles or property (or the threat of this
    occurring); road rage; driving through stop signs and red
    lights; or other forms of particularly erratic driving. . . .
    On the other hand, reckless driving cases often involve
    less extreme actions, such as moderate speeding, erratic
    lane changes, and other forms of irresponsible driving.
    State v. Scherbarth, 
    24 Neb. App. 897
    , 906-07, 
    900 N.W.2d 213
    , 221 (2017). While the present case does not involve evi-
    dence of speeding, erratic lane changes, or aggressive driving,
    we nevertheless conclude that there is evidence of irresponsible
    driving which, when viewed in the light most favorable to
    the prosecution, is sufficient to support a finding that Knight
    exhibited an indifferent or wanton disregard for the safety of
    persons or property.
    On appeal, Knight asserts he was not driving recklessly
    insofar as “[h]is driving was normal and unremarkable but for
    the moment of inattention or driver error immediately preced-
    ing the accident.” Brief for appellant at 13. It is true that the
    collision in this case could have precipitated from inatten-
    tion or driver error, as opposed to aggressive or erratic driv-
    ing per se. However, the evidence belies any suggestion that
    such inattention or driver error was confined to the moment
    immediately preceding the collision. Rather, Knight failed to
    attend to the flashing yellow warning signals placed 648 feet
    before the intersection. Knight then failed to attend to the traf-
    fic light which turned red as he approached the intersection.
    Finally, Knight failed to attend to the vehicles in front of him,
    which had slowed and ultimately stopped at the red light prior
    to the collision. Moreover, Knight participated in a 13-minute
    phone call which was estimated to have ended approximately
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    1 minute before the collision, and it is possible that the phone
    call itself, or continued attention to the phone after the call
    ended, contributed to Knight’s inattention.
    The evidence demonstrates that Knight would have needed
    between 229 and 242 feet of road to safely stop the truck. If he
    had noticed the flashing warning signals, then he would have
    had well over twice that distance to stop the truck. Even hav-
    ing failed to observe the flashing warning signals, Knight had
    ample opportunity to heed the red light and vehicles stopped
    in front of him. Furthermore, even if Knight failed to observe
    the red light and stopped vehicles in time to stop the truck, any
    meaningful notice thereof would have provided an opportunity
    to hit the brakes and steer the truck away from the stopped
    vehicles. Yet, Knight apparently failed to take any action to
    avoid the collision, save possibly turning the truck ever so
    slightly to the right.
    Altogether, it is clear that whatever the cause of Knight’s
    inattention, such lasted much longer than a moment. Rather,
    Knight was so distracted that he neglected to heed numerous
    warning signs and drove a loaded dump truck straight through
    a red traffic light at full speed. Sustained inattention of this
    sort, when viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecu-
    tion, is evidence sufficient to allow a rational jury to conclude
    that Knight was engaged in reckless driving at the time of
    the accident. See Commonwealth v. Cady, 
    300 Va. 325
    , 
    863 S.E.2d 858
     (2021). Accordingly, we affirm Knight’s convic-
    tions for motor vehicle homicide by reckless driving and reck-
    less driving.
    CONCLUSION
    For the foregoing reasons, we affirm Knight’s convictions
    for motor vehicle homicide by reckless driving and reck-
    less driving.
    Affirmed.
    

Document Info

Docket Number: A-21-158

Citation Numbers: 31 Neb. Ct. App. 176

Filed Date: 7/12/2022

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 7/19/2022