No Witnesses

[thorodin]

What is the name of your state?Colorado.

My wife was driving down an deserted mountain road at 8:45 a.m. and went in the ditch, just a straight shot, we don't know why. she couldn't get out of the car and called 911 and was transported to the hospital for precautionary measures and released after some tests and bloodwork, no injuries. the State Police trooper showed up 52 minutes after the call went out, wasn't on scene to interview my wife, she was transported prior to him arriving and the trooper called another trooper at the hospital and had him issue a ticket for careless driving. Again no witnesses, there was a straight tire track that leads into the ditch, no swerving or sign of excess speed, no airbag deployment, no body damage. the police report says she was taking diet pills but that is incorrect and probably misinterpreted by one of the volunteer responders because she does drink a diet coke in the morning. is there any health or other reasons why an accident that happened for an unknown reasons wouldn't be careless driving?
she pleaded not guilty and we go befor the judge on 1/17

[CdwJava]

The fact she left the roadway can be seen prima facie evidence of careless driving. Absent some other cause, then the ONLY person responsible is the driver. And unless she was impaired by drugs or alcohol, or suffered some medical emergency (seizure, heart attack, etc.) the collision will be presumed to have been caused by her action.

If she can prove she had a seizure, she might be able to beat the criminal charge, but she might then lose her license until she has been medically cleared and treated to be safe to drive.

- Carl

[seniorjudge]

If she were not driving carelessly, she would not have had a wreck.

These kinds of cases are easy for prosecutors.

[thorodin]

Doesn't the prosecutor have to prove guilt and if she doesn't take the stand, couldn't the cause of the accident have been from a health issue or one of lives lessons that just happens. You have a car in the ditch, does there have to be a fault? Life makes things happen all the time?

[seniorjudge]

Q: Doesn't the prosecutor have to prove guilt and if she doesn't take the stand, couldn't the cause of the accident have been from a health issue or one of lives lessons that just happens. You have a car in the ditch, does there have to be a fault? Life makes things happen all the time?

A: Yes, the prosecutor will have to prove guilt. It will be easy since it is a 100% circumstantial case. The circumstantial evidence of dog prints in the mud outweigh the eyewitness testimony of ten thousand angels that no dog passed this way.

Or, in your wife's case, a car in the ditch outweighs the presumption that she was NOT driving carelessly.

[justalayman]

No. As Carl stated earlier, a prima facie case states that the accident was obviously due to carelessnesss unless the defendant can show otherwise.

You have the opportunity to show otherwise.

prima facie
: (pry-mah fay-shah) adj. Latin for "at first look," or "on its face," referring to a lawsuit or criminal prosecution in which the evidence before trial is sufficient to prove the case unless there is substantial contradictory evidence presented at trial