If you’re driving and you feel sleepy before, during or after this broadcast, find a safe place to pull off the road and get some rest so what happened to Chris won’t happen to you.  It was 9 o’clock in the morning when Chris fell fast asleep behind the wheel.  He drove right off the road striking and killing Judy, who was jogging on the grass by the roadside.  A driver behind Chris testified he never even applied his brakes.  The officer who responded described Chris as extremely tired with bloodshot eyes and a faint odor of alcohol.  Chris admitted he’d been up for 22 hours but said that wasn’t unusual because he played in a band, adding he was only five minutes from home.  Chris was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, but the Appeals Court reversed stating we cannot conclude that Chris knew or should’ve known that he would kill someone and, although he engaged in reckless misconduct, that does not support a finding of criminal manslaughter.

THIS IS NEIL CHAYET LOOKING AT THE LAW™

Christopher Conrad v. Commonwealth of Virginia Court of Appeals Richmond, May 11, 1999, Elder, J., 1999 WL 288036 (see script no. 5470)

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