[Woodsy]

Island Lover...

The jury didn't have much choice but to find him not guilty of BWI. They did not have the preponderance of evidence needed for conviction, to point the results of a breathalyzer or blood test. The loophole through which Mr. Littlefield was able to legally leave the scene of an accident has now been closed.

The jury did convict him of negligent homicide by failing to keep a proper lookout. He now sits in jail.

But lets go over some of the facts as they came out in the trial...

1. By his own admission and other witnesses, he was drinking at Braun Bay. (no harm or foul... yet)

2. He decides to drive his boat after consuming alcohol. This is where AIS (Alcohol Induced Stupidity) first appears. He may not have been legally drunk, but its the first sign of bad/impaired judgement.

3. He drives the boat to Meredith and goes to dinner. At dinner he orders 4 glasses of wine, but allegedly only drinks two. We don't know how much booze was actually ordered because convieniently Rusty's restaurant can't find the slip. (AIS is pretty much full blown at this point)

4. After dinner its time to drive home... (AIS is out of control at this point)

5. He collides with the Hartman boat. He drives away. We know sad reults.

In the above scenario, Daniel had several chances to reverse AIS. He chose poorly, and continued to imbibe alcohol.

The speed at which his Baja was traveling was irrelavent, as any speed over headway would have had little effect on the outcome. Had a speed limit been in place, in addition to getting convicted of negligent homicide, he might have gotten a $100 speeding ticket.

Woodsy