Commonwealth v. Cornelius

1

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. CHRISTOPHER A. CORNELIUS Appellant

No. 861 MDA 2022

No. J-S06042-23

Superior Court of Pennsylvania

March 15, 2023

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered May 24, 2022 In the Court of Common Pleas of Berks County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-06-CR-0003328-2019

BEFORE: STABILE, J., NICHOLS, J., and STEVENS P.J.E.^[*]

MEMORANDUM

STEVENS, P.J.E.

Appellant Christopher A. Cornelius appeals from the judgment of sentence entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Berks County following his conviction by a jury on two counts of homicide by vehicle, one count of aggravated assault by vehicle, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, three counts of recklessly endangering another person, one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, two counts of driving while under the influence of a controlled substance ("DUI"),^[1] and various summary traffic offenses.^[2] After a careful review, we affirm.

The relevant facts and procedural history are as follows: After his arrest in connection with a fatal automobile accident, Appellant, who was represented by counsel, proceeded to a jury trial. Donelle Truglia testified that, in June of 2019, she, her ex-husband, and her daughter (collectively "the Truglias"), all of whom lived in Kentucky, were visiting her mother in Bloomfield, New Jersey, when her vehicle was repossessed. N.T., 4/11/22, at 119. Ms. Truglia asked Appellant, who was also a Kentucky resident, to pick them up in New Jersey and drive them back to Kentucky. Id.

On June 28, 2019, Appellant arrived at Ms. Truglia's mother's home, and after Appellant took a shower, the Truglias departed Bloomfield at 10:00 p.m. in Appellant's vehicle with Appellant at the wheel. Id. at 121. Ms. Truglia testified "the car ride was decent" while they were traveling west on I-78 until Appellant began "swerving in and out of traffic driving at high speed." Id. Ms. Truglia testified she was "nervous" and asked Appellant to "slow down; stop doing that." Id. Ms. Truglia eventually dozed off, but she awoke when Appellant slammed the vehicle's brakes to avoid hitting the rear of the car traveling in front of them. Id. at 122. Ms. Truglia indicated she "had enough" and was "too scared to stay in the car with him." Id. Accordingly, Ms. Truglia demanded Appellant stop the vehicle at the first rest stop when they entered Pennsylvania from New Jersey. Id. at 123.

Ms. Truglia told Appellant she refused to drive with him to Kentucky unless he allowed her to drive. Id. After approximately forty-five minutes, at 1:00 a.m. on June 29, 2019, Appellant drove away leaving the Truglias in the rest stop parking lot. Id. at 125. Ms. Truglia called a taxi service, and the family spent the night at a hotel near Allentown, Pennsylvania. Id. at 126. Ms. Truglia testified she never heard from Appellant again; however, while they were sleeping at the hotel, Appellant called her ex-husband's cell number and left a voicemail message at around 3:30 a.m. or 4:00 a.m. Id. at 127. In the message, Appellant reported he "got into a bad car accident." Id.

After hearing the voicemail message at 8:00 a.m. on June 29, 2019, Ms. Truglia called the police to inquire about the accident, as well as Appellant's condition. Id. at 128. In response, state troopers came to the hotel and interviewed Ms. Truglia, who gave the troopers a statement consistent with her trial testimony. Id. at 128-30.

Meanwhile, at some point after leaving the Truglias at the rest stop, Appellant reversed his westward course and began traveling in the eastbound lane of I-78. Lisa Winter testified that, at approximately 2:30 a.m. on June 29, 2019, she, her husband, and her son departed from their home in

Schuylkill County and began traveling in their hardtop Jeep Wrangler towards Wildwood Crest, New Jersey. Id. at 138. Mr. Winter was driving with Mrs. Winter in the front passenger seat and their son in the back seat. Id. The Winters traveled on Route 61 south and took the exit onto I-78 east towards Allentown. Id. at 139-40. Mrs. Winter testified there were no adverse weather conditions, and traffic was light on I-78 east. Id. at 140.

Mrs. Winter testified that, as the family traveled in the right lane between exits 40 and 45, bright lights appeared from behind in the driver's side-view and rearview mirrors. Id. at 139-40. She indicated the lights came upon their Jeep "real fast" and then their Jeep was suddenly hit. Id. at 14042. Mrs. Winter testified "the force of the impact" lifted their Jeep off the ground, onto the guide rails, and over a steep embankment. Id. at 140-41. The Jeep "free-fell down to a ledge and went into a hard roll." Id. at 140.

Mrs. Winter testified the following occurred:

It just became very loud. Glass was ricocheting all over the place. I remember my head being bashed around. You could hear churning of metal. The coils were bouncing on the Jeep. And everything in the [Jeep] was silent except for me. I was screaming, "God, please stop the roll; God, please stop the roll." And I-at one point, it just seemed like it was going on forever like a nightmare that ever ends.

Id. at 142.

Mrs. Winter never lost consciousness. Id. When the vehicle stopped rolling, it came to rest in shallow water. Id. Mrs. Winter "turned to the side to look for [her] husband on the driver's side, and he wasn't there." Id. Mrs. Winter was unable to open the passenger side door, so she crawled onto the driver's side. Id. She began calling for help while yelling for her husband and son. Id. at 144-45. Suddenly, she saw two police officers with flashlights walking down the embankment towards her, and she was removed from the scene suffering from a broken neck, concussion, deep cuts, and shock.^[3] Id. at 145-46. At trial, she denied seeing a tractor trailer in the area prior to the crash, and she testified her husband did not make any lane changes. Id. at 141.

Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Dominick Marino testified that, after receiving a dispatch, he and his partner, Trooper Robert Markowski, arrived at the accident scene in Greenwich Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, on June 29, 2019, at approximately 3:24 a.m. Id. at 153. He testified that, at this location, I-78 is a highway with two lanes dedicated for traveling east and two lanes dedicated for traveling west. Id. at 154. The eastbound and westbound lanes are separated by a concrete median barrier. Id. The accident occurred in a non-active construction zone where the speed limit was posted at either 50 or 55 mph. Id. He indicated there were no adverse weather conditions, and the road was straight with no "sight-line issues." Id. at 155.

Upon arrival at the accident scene, Trooper Marino observed Appellant's vehicle sitting in a "final resting" position by the "concrete barrier separating east and west traffic, faced in a northeastern direction." Id. at 154. Appellant was standing near the guide rail, and he "flagged down" the police. Id. at 155. Appellant pointed down towards the embankment and yelled "there's someone down there or there's a car down there." Id. at 157.

The trooper did "a quick triage of [Appellant], asking him if he was injured." Id. Appellant did not complain of any injuries. Id. at 159. The troopers then used their flashlights to look down the steep embankment and heard Mrs. Winter screaming for help. Id. at 158. They observed the crashed Jeep sitting in the stream. Id. at 159. With some difficulty, the troopers traversed down the steep embankment, and they moved Mrs. Winter, who was semi-ambulatory, approximately 25 yards from the Jeep. Id. at 161.

Alerting the troopers that her husband and son were in the Jeep, the troopers began looking for them. Id. The troopers found Mr. Winter and the couple's son not too far on the northern side of where the Jeep had come to its final resting place. Id. at 163. The troopers discovered no signs of life, and it was clear they were deceased. Id.

Trooper Marino testified the ambulance arrived soon thereafter, and Mrs. Winter was removed from the scene. Id. at 164. Meanwhile, the troopers went back up the embankment and asked Appellant what had happened. Id. at 165. Trooper Marino testified as follows:

At first, [Appellant] was having trouble recalling what happened prior to the crash and during the crash. But he indicated about a truck, a tractor trailer, the trailer unit of the tractor trailer, he said that's what he remembered, the last thing that he remembered was seeing that and trying to swerve away from that.

Id.

Trooper Marino noted there was no tractor trailer stopped at the scene, and no tractor trailer driver called in to report the accident. Id. at 166. Trooper Marino did not perform a field sobriety test on Appellant; however, he asked Appellant to take a breathalyzer after he was in the ambulance. Id. at 170. The breathalyzer was negative for alcohol. Id.

Trooper Markowski testified consistently with Trooper Marino as to his observations at the crash scene. N.T., 4/12/22, at 186-208. He noted Appellant was "very sporadic" in his speaking. Id. at 196. He did not observe any drug paraphernalia at the scene or detect an odor of alcohol from Appellant. Id. at 198. He did not witness Appellant take any drugs at the scene. Id. He did not observe any adverse weather conditions. Id. at 202. He noted that, based on the seriousness of the crash, he called for the State Police's accident reconstruction unit to respond. Id. at 203.

Samuel Yerkes, who is an ambulance driver and EMT, testified he responded to the crash scene at approximately 4:30 a.m. N.T. 4/11/22, at 175. He observed Appellant's vehicle had damage to the front end. Id. He indicated he asked Appellant what...