People v. Garner
Supreme Court of Colorado
781 P.2d 87 (1989)
While driving eight miles per hour over the speed limit and intoxicated, Garner (defendant) struck and killed a child, Lisa Uhrenic, who continued crossing the street after other children had stopped; despite Garner's evasive swerve, the truck's front right side hit her. Evidence at a preliminary hearing was mixed — one officer testified the crash likely would have occurred even at the proper speed limit (though it was unclear whether death would have resulted), another testified he believed Lisa's own running into the street was the proximate cause rather than Garner's conduct, and other witnesses said Garner was not driving erratically. The trial court dismissed the vehicular-homicide charge for insufficient probable cause, reasoning Garner's speed, not his intoxication, proximately caused the death, and the state appealed.
Whether the proximate-cause element of Colorado's strict-liability vehicular-homicide statute requires proof that the defendant's intoxication itself caused negligent driving resulting in death, or is satisfied simply by showing the defendant voluntarily drove while intoxicated and that his driving resulted in another's death.