Commonwealth v. Engstrom, 122 N.E.3d 1098 (2019)
- Citation
- Commonwealth v. Engstrom, 122 N.E.3d 1098 (2019)
- Parent Document
- Commonwealth v. Engstrom, 122 N.E.3d 1098 (2019)
- Jurisdiction
- Massachusetts (state)
- Effective Date
- 2019-01-03
Other Sections in This Document (17)
- Commonwealth v. Engstrom, 122 N.E.3d 1098 (2019)
- Commonwealth v. Engstrom, 122 N.E.3d 1098 (2019)
- Commonwealth v. Engstrom, 122 N.E.3d 1098 (2019)
- Commonwealth v. Engstrom, 122 N.E.3d 1098 (2019)
- Commonwealth v. Engstrom, 122 N.E.3d 1098 (2019)
- Commonwealth v. Engstrom, 122 N.E.3d 1098 (2019)
- Commonwealth v. Engstrom, 122 N.E.3d 1098 (2019)
- Commonwealth v. Engstrom, 122 N.E.3d 1098 (2019)
- Commonwealth v. Engstrom, 122 N.E.3d 1098 (2019)
- Commonwealth v. Engstrom, 122 N.E.3d 1098 (2019)
- Commonwealth v. Engstrom, 122 N.E.3d 1098 (2019)
- Commonwealth v. Engstrom, 122 N.E.3d 1098 (2019)
- Commonwealth v. Engstrom, 122 N.E.3d 1098 (2019)
- Commonwealth v. Engstrom, 122 N.E.3d 1098 (2019)
- Commonwealth v. Engstrom, 122 N.E.3d 1098 (2019)
- Commonwealth v. Engstrom, 122 N.E.3d 1098 (2019)
- Commonwealth v. Engstrom, 122 N.E.3d 1098 (2019)
Full Text
930 charsThere is no question that the "mere happening of an accident ..., where the circumstances immediately preceding it are left to conjecture is not sufficient to prove negligence on the part of the operator of the vehicle." Aucella v. Commonwealth, 406 Mass. 415, 418-420 (1990), quoting Callahan v. Lach, 338 Mass. 233, 235 (1958). In this case, however, the evidence does not leave the circumstances preceding the accident to conjecture. Rather, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, it shows that the defendant lost control of her vehicle on a dry roadway and careened across the median of an Interstate, damaging the front end and a mirror on the vehicle before coming to rest in a ditch. In addition, the defendant's speech was slurred, her eyes were red and bloodshot, her movements lacked coordination, she could not complete a variety of field sobriety assessments, and she smelled of alcohol.