181 A.2d 609 | Conn. Super. Ct. | 1962
The defendant was charged with evading responsibility in violation of §
An examination of all the testimony discloses that the trial court could reasonably and logically have found the following facts. At approximately 3 o'clock on the morning of August 26, 1961, the defendant was entering the Connecticut turnpike in a westerly direction at the South Street ramp in Stamford. As he reached the crest of the ramp, his automobile veered off the road to the right and struck the fence bordering the ramp, which fence was owned and maintained by the state of Connecticut. As a result of the collision, the fence was damaged and the automobile of the defendant was damaged. A tire on the defendant's automobile was deflated. After this collision, the defendant entered the turnpike and continued westerly for a distance of about a mile and a half to the next exit, which was the West Street exit in Stamford. The defendant's automobile traveled this distance on a deflated tire. The West Street exit led to the defendant's home. The defendant then drove off the turnpike on the West Street exit and drove his automobile into a gasoline station, cut off his motor and turned off the lights of his automobile. The gasoline station was closed. Officer Hojnacki of the Stamford police force, in a routine tour of duty, came upon the defendant and asked him "What did you hit?" The defendant made no response. He did not report to this police officer that he had struck a fence on the turnpike, the damage done to the fence, nor the location and circumstances of the accident. He did not give his name, address and operator's license number to this officer. The defendant knew he had damaged the highway fence. *286 After repeated questioning by this police officer, the defendant finally stated he had struck the fence on the turnpike and gave no further information. This officer then telephoned for a state police trooper, and as a result Trooper Sheedy arrived at the gasoline station. Being questioned by Trooper Sheedy, the defendant stated to him that nothing had happened and that only defendant's automobile was damaged. The defendant further stated that there was no need to report the accident, and denied striking anything. Upon Trooper Sheedy's insistence that as a state police trooper it was his duty to investigate all turnpike accidents, the defendant finally accompanied the trooper to the scene of the collision, where the trooper discovered the damaged fence. The trooper then placed the defendant under arrest.
In support of defendant's lone assignment of error, the defendant makes the following argument, in three parts. In part one, he claims that §
Having examined all of the evidence, we consider the defendant's arguments and conclude that they are without merit. Section
Section
It was within the exclusive province of the trial court to assay the probative value of the testimony of Trooper Sheedy, and with the court's conclusions in this respect we do not interfere. This principle is too well established to require authority.
From all of the evidence, the trial court could have reasonably concluded that the defendant did *288
not comply with the provisions of §
There is no error.
In this opinion McCARTHY and AARONSON, Js., concurred.