State v. Lamprey

Nancy Lamprey (defendant) ran a home daycare and picked up six children at a bus stop, letting them ride in the bed of her pickup truck. On the drive home, she performed "swervies" -- zigzagging the truck to entertain the kids -- and the truck left the road and hit a tree, killing one child and injuring the other five. The State of New Hampshire (plaintiff) charged Lamprey with manslaughter, reckless conduct, and multiple counts of first-degree assault. At trial, Lamprey testified the truck unexpectedly accelerated due to a mechanical defect, while a prosecution witness testified there was no such mechanical problem. The trial court instructed the jury that any intervening mechanical defect had to be the "sole substantial cause" of the injuries to break the chain of causation. Lamprey was convicted on all counts and appealed the causation instruction.