PEOPLE OF MI V FIDAL WALEED AURI
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
UNPUBLISHED
October 29, 2009
Plaintiff-Appellant,
V
No. 287838
Wayne Circuit Court
LC No. 08-004758-FH
FIDAL WALEED AURI,
Defendant-Appellee.
Before: Murray, P.J., and Markey and Borrello, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
In this prosecutor’s appeal, plaintiff appeals as of right from the circuit court’s order
quashing the information charging defendant with, among other things, operating a motor vehicle
while under the influence of a controlled substance and causing death, MCL 257.625(4), failing
to stop at the scene of a fatal accident, MCL 257.617(3), and vehicular manslaughter, MCL
750.321. We reverse and remand. This appeal has been decided without oral argument pursuant
to MCR 7.214(E).
This case arises from a fatal traffic accident that occurred early in the morning on New
Year’s Day, 2008. According to testimony given at the preliminary examination, a mother was
driving with her three children northbound on I-75, in snowy weather, when she was violently
struck from behind, causing her car to strike a retaining wall. One of the children died as a
result. The driver of the other car did not stop at the scene, and the mother was not able to
describe that other car.
Police officers observed defendant, on the morning in question, at a gas station, behind
the wheel of a car with fresh and heavy damage to its front end. When the police questioned
defendant, who had a fresh cut on his face, he admitted that he had been drinking, and stated that
his car was headed north on I-75 when it struck another vehicle as it cut in front of his car. The
gas station was within a few miles of the accident site.
The district court bound defendant over for trial on the grounds that the heavy damage to
the front of defendant’s car and rear of the victim’s car, the proximity of the gas station where
the police found defendant and the crash site, and defendant’s admission to hitting someone on I75, constituted probable cause.
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Defendant challenged the bind over in the circuit court, which agreed with defendant and
dismissed the case, stating that there were likely many collisions on a New Year’s night in a
major metropolitan area. The circuit court additionally noted that in the transcript of the
preliminary examination the driver of the car that was hit estimated that the accident took place
at 2:00 a.m., while one of the police officers, who first came upon defendant, estimated that the
confrontation took place at approximately 1:30 a.m. that same morning. The district court had
expressed some concern about the “time frame,” but opined “people are difficult with time.
Especially when something traumatic like this happens.” The circuit court, however, observed
that this testimony concerning timing rendered defendant’s responsibility for the victim’s
accident an impossibility, and granted the motion to quash largely for that reason.
“This Court reviews for an abuse of discretion both a district court’s decision to bind a
defendant over for trial and a trial court’s decision on a motion to quash an information.” People
v Fletcher, 260 Mich App 531, 551-552; 679 NW2d 127 (2004). A defendant must be bound
over for trial if, at the conclusion of the preliminary examination, probable cause exists to
believe that the defendant committed the crime. People v Orzame, 224 Mich App 551, 558; 570
NW2d 118 (1997). “Probable cause exists where the court finds a reasonable ground of
suspicion, supported by circumstances sufficiently strong in themselves to warrant a cautious
person to believe that the accused is guilty of the offense charged.” Id., citing MCL 766.13;
MCR 6.110(E). Guilt need not be established beyond a reasonable doubt, but there must be
“evidence of each element of the crime charged or evidence from which the elements may be
inferred.” People v Flowers, 191 Mich App 169, 179; 477 NW2d 473 (1991).
We hold that the circuit court erred in granting defendant’s motion to quash because the
district court’s bind over decision was not an abuse of discretion.
The relevant charges against defendant–operating a motor vehicle under the influence of
a controlled substance and causing death, failing to stop at the scene of a fatal accident, and
vehicular manslaughter–resulted from a fatal accident that occurred on northbound I-75 in the
early morning hours on New Year’s Day, 2008. The accident involved a Ford Taurus being
struck from behind, which in turn caused the car to crash into the highway retaining wall, killing
one of two children who were in the back seat of the car. The evidence presented to the district
court showed that although the driver of the Taurus could not identify the vehicle that struck it,
that same morning defendant was found at a gas station located within minutes of the accident
scene with the front end of his Escalade heavily damaged. At the gas station defendant admitted
to being in an accident on northbound I-75 after leaving downtown Detroit, and defendant had a
fresh injury to his mouth as perceived by the police officer. This evidence was sufficient under
the standard governing bindover decisions to bind defendant over on the pertinent charges.
The circuit court’s rationale for granting the motion to quash was that there could have
been many other accidents on a snowy New Year’s Day, and that simply because defendant was
driving north on I-75 does not tie him to this accident. However, as noted above, the fact that
defendant was also in an accident on northbound I-75 the same morning of the accident at issue
was not the only evidence tying defendant to this accident. Defendant’s vehicle had significant
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damage, as did the Taurus, and the Taurus was hit from behind, and the damage to defendant’s
vehicle was at the front end. Additionally, the record seems to suggest that defendant was in an
accident at or about the same time as the victim.1 Whether the evidence presented is sufficient to
find defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt is not the issue. Indeed, a magistrate need not
be without doubts regarding guilt and still bind over a defendant based upon probable cause.
People v Yost, 468 Mich 122, 126; 659 NW2d 604 (2003). Here, the evidence inferentially
supports all elements of the charged crimes, People v Terry, 224 Mich App 447, 451; 569 NW2d
641 (1997), and that is all that is necessary to deny the motion to quash. Whether defendant was
involved in another accident, or can establish a deficiency in the timing of the accident(s), should
be resolved at trial, not through a motion to quash. For these reasons, we reverse the trial court’s
order and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
We do not retain jurisdiction.
/s/ Christopher M. Murray
/s/ Jane E. Markey
/s/ Stephen L. Borrello
1
The district court correctly noted that witnesses often have difficulty remembering the exact
time when an incident occurred, particularly when a witness is involved in a significant accident.
Thus, it would be for a jury to determine whether the timing was possible such that defendant
was involved in this accident. Additionally, at trial the record can be clarified concerning what
was actually testified to at the preliminary exam, as there is a suggestion that the transcript was
inaccurate as to the time element as testified to by one of the witnesses.
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