Christopher Smith has been accused of killing Trang Vo after he was driving the wrong way on Pecos Road for miles. The Phoenix collision occurred on December 24, 2007, where he is now being charged with second-degree murder, according to Ahwatukee Foothill News. Mr. Smith also faces three counts of aggravated assault in injuries to Kiem Chung, Ngyon Chung and Tuyet Nguyen; who were the other victims in the crash.
Police recorded that Mr. Smith had a blood-alcohol level of .20 just after the Christmas Eve collision. Mr. Smith's Phoenix DUI attorney, Charles K. Shell, admitted in court that his client had too much to drink and that he was driving on the wrong side of the road. However Mr. Shell is arguing that it wasn't Mr. Smith's drunkenness that caused the accident.
The Phoenix DUI attorney says that the collision occurred because Mr. Smith was in a "semi-conscious" state and fell asleep at the wheel. Smith faces a maximum of 22 years in prison for the second-degree murder charge, but Mr. Shell is arguing that his client's punishment should be far less than the maximum sentence because he fell asleep and was not driving drunk.
Now a 14 member jury panel, composed of six men and eight women must determine if Mr. Smith was drunk driving or sleep driving on that Christmas Eve. The trial started on February 2 and is being held in Maricopa County Superior Court. DUIAttorney.com reports that the trial is expected to last 10-14 days. For more information, please visit our Related Resources links.
Related Resources:
- Driving Safety (FindLaw)
- Stronger Warnings on Sleeping Pills and "Sleep Driving" (FindLaw's Common Law Blog)
- Defenses to Drunk Driving (FindLaw)
- Phoenix DUI attorney directory (FindLaw)
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