In re Kimberly C.
Filed 4/7/06 In re Kimberly C. CA1/1
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION ONE
| In re KIMBERLY C., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. | |
| THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. KIMBERLY C., Defendant and Appellant. | A111282 (Lake County Super. Ct. No. JV-310119) |
The juvenile court found that 17-year-old defendant Kimberly C. had committed misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence (Pen. Code, § 192, subd. (c)(2) [section 192(c)(2)]). Defendant drove on the left side of double yellow lines in violation of Vehicle Code section 21460, subdivision (a), and collided with an oncoming motorcycle, causing the death of the driver. Defendant argues there is insufficient evidence of the mental state necessary for misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. We disagree because the evidence is sufficient to show that defendant carelessly took her eyes off of the road before the collision. This supplies the necessary negligence to support a finding that she violated section 192(c)(2). Accordingly, we affirm.
I. FACTS
Under applicable standards of appellate review, we must view the facts in the light most favorable to the juvenile court's determinations, and presume in support of those determinations the existence of every fact which the juvenile court could reasonably find from the evidence. (See People v. Barnes (1986) 42 Cal.3d 284, 303; People v. Neufer (1994) 30 Cal.App.4th 244, 247.)
On the afternoon of August 20, 2004, defendant's Volkswagen Rabbit convertible crossed the center double yellow lines on Highway 20 in Lake County, and collided with an oncoming Harley-Davidson motorcycle driven by John Tucci. Tucci was killed and his passenger, his girlfriend Donna Sufak, was seriously injured.
Witness Thomas Dorsey was driving behind defendant as she approached the site of the collision, and witnessed the accident. Dorsey testified he was driving his delivery truck eastbound on Highway 20 toward Colusa County, in the slow lane, when defendant's Rabbit passed him in the fast lane. This was about four or five miles before the site of the collision. Defendant was not speeding. Both Dorsey and defendant were driving at about the speed limit, which was 55 miles per hour.
Dorsey was â€
