 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
People v. Abdoush10/20/2005
UNPUBLISHED
Before: Owens, P.J., and Fitzgerald and Schuette, JJ.
Following a bench trial in 1999, defendant was convicted of second-degree murder, MCL 750.317, and sentenced to a prison term of fifteen to twenty-five years. Defendant appealed, but the appeal was dismissed because it was not timely filed. Defendant thereafter filed a motion for relief from judgment, which was denied. This Court subsequently denied defendant's delayed application for leave to appeal the denial of his motion for relief from judgment. This case is now before us on remand from our Supreme Court for consideration as on leave granted. People v Abdoush, 470 Mich 872; 687 NW2d 292 (2004). We affirm.
I. FACTS
Defendant's conviction arises from allegations that on January 25, 1998, at approximately 1:30 a.m., he intentionally struck the victim while driving a van, and that the injuries to the victim caused her subsequent death. Two witnesses observed the victim standing on Michigan Avenue in Detroit, talking to someone in a van. As the victim walked away from the van, the driver attempted to hit her. The van continued on Michigan Avenue, made a U-turn, came back toward the victim at a high rate of speed, hit the victim, "ran over her," and continued driving. One witness wrote down license plate number PLL 903. Upon arriving at the scene, the police found the victim lying facedown in the street and gurgling. The police observed, inter alia, deep tire marks veering across Michigan Avenue in the direction of the victim's body, "yaw" marks indicating that a vehicle had made a sudden turn at a high rate of speed, and plastic debris scattered throughout the entire lane. No one could identify the driver of the van.
After emergency personnel resuscitated the victim and took other emergency measures, the victim was transported to the hospital in critical condition. When the victim arrived in emergency, she was comatose and had multiple injuries, including several facial lacerations, a mandible fracture, a zygoma fracture, a femur fracture, and abdominal injuries, including injuries to the small intestine, large intestine, bladder, mesentery, and the supporting structures of the intestines. Dr. Kurt Kravolich, who was qualified as a medical expert, testified that he was one of the victim's treating physicians. According to Dr. Kravolich, the victim underwent an exploratory laparotomy, a craniotomy, and a surgical repair of her femur fracture. Dr. Kravolich indicated that the hospital staff improperly inserted an intravenous line in the victim's groin area that created fluid in her abdomen, which caused him to operate on her abdomen. The victim was in stable condition following the surgeries.
On February 1, 1998, approximately four days after being struck by the van, the victim unexpectedly suffered a stroke and died. Dr. Kravolich indicated that the victim had regained consciousness on January 26, became weak on January 29, and was "clinically brain dead" by January 30. Dr. Kravolich indicated that the stroke was caused by damage to the internal carotid artery, i.e., "blocking of the artery." The victim's "dissection began at a point two centimeters above bifurcation of the common carotid artery which . . . put it very high in the neck behind the jaw." There were no external injuries apparent on the victim's neck. Dr. Kravolich testified that the dissection of the carotid artery is consistent with the facial injuries the victim sustained.
Dr. Sawait Kanulen, the Wayne County chief medical examiner, testified as an expert in forensic pathology, and concluded that there were multiple injuries, especially in the face area, multiple fracture of the face and bones
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Michigan Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
By using the system, you agree to TERMS OF SERVICE
|