4 Pa. Commw. 95 | Pa. Commw. Ct. | 1972
Opinion by
On March 8, 1970, Kevin Andrew Yockers (appellant) was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor in violation of Section 1037 of The Vehicle Code, Act of April 29, 1959, P. L. 58, as amended, 75 P.S. §1037, after having an automobile accident while driving on Belvidere Road, L. R. 48025, approximately four miles north of Martin’s Creek in Lower Mt. Bethel Township, Northampton County. Having received the Intoxication Report from the Pennsylvania State Police, the Secretary, of Revenue, (now Secretary of Transportation) conducted a departmental hearing on the matter on June 5, 1970. On July 8, 1970, a license suspension notice was sent to appellant informing him that under Section 618(b) (1), 75 P.S. §618 (b) (1), his license was suspended for six months, effective July 23, 1970, for a violation of Section 1037. On September 8, 1970, after granting a supersedeas on July 20, 1970 (appellant’s license was restored July 22, 1970), the Court of Common Pleas of Northampton County, after a de novo hearing, sustained the action of the Secretary and dismissed appellant’s appeal to that court. Appellant then took an appeal to the Superior Court on October 9, 1970, which court transferred the appeal to this court on October 13, 1970.
The court below, on the basis of the testimony and evidence presented to it, found that the Commonwealth had met its burden of showing by a preponderance of the evidence that appellant was operating his vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating beverages.
The arresting officer, State Trooper Herman Todd, testified, in pertinent part, as follows: “Q. Will you
In appeals of this nature our duty is to examine the testimony to determine whether the findings of the
Appellant bases this appeal on two contentions: (1) “There was no testimony or other evidence to prove ownership of the automobile whereby a presumption could have arisen that the Petitioner was the driver of the automobile.”; and (2) “All the testimony of Officer Todd and Doctor Stein relating to the Petitioner’s condition of sobriety is post facto and the Commonwealth . . . made no effort and did not relate the Commonwealth’s testimony as to the time or circumstance to, at the very least, create an inference that the Defendant was under the influence while operating a motor vehicle.”
As to the first of these, one of the Commonwealth’s exhibits, the Certification of Intoxication Report, indicated, by license plate number and registration number, that the automobile involved in the accident belonged to appellant; appellant himself was found lying by the side of the road thirty to forty feet from his car; there was no evidence that there were other occupants in the automobile; and appellant told State Trooper Todd that he had been driving the car.
We interpret the second contention to mean that the testimony of the arresting officer and the examining doctor should be excluded from consideration simply because they did not actually see appellant in an inebriated condition while he was physically driving the car. But the Commonwealth’s burden in this civil proceeding is to prove by a preponderance of the evidence, not, as in a criminal proceeding, beyond a reasonable doubt. On this appeal, appellant does not dis
We conclude that the circumstances surrounding appellant’s arrest and medical examination are so compelling as to exclude any conclusion other than that reached by the court below.
Order affirmed. A reinstated suspension of six months shall be issued within thirty days.