The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

July 13, 2008

Top court backs driver’s suspension

By Joe Pinchot

GREENVILLE — State Supreme Court said Thursday it will not hear the appeal of a Greenville man whose license was suspended by a judge who discounted expert medical testimony.

PennDOT suspended the license of Thomas J. Raiti, 54, of Greenville, for one year because he refused to submit to blood test to determine his blood-alcohol level after a car crash.

The crash occurred at about 9 p.m. Feb. 6, 2006, on Clarksville Street in Greenville, according to the Commonwealth Court opinion filed Aug. 24.

Greenville-West Salem Township police Sgt. John Webster, who knew Raiti, found that Raiti’s responses were slow, but appropriate. After Raiti was freed from his car, Webster sent patrolman David Morgan to UPMC Horizon, Greenville, to request the blood test.

Morgan read Raiti the implied consent warning from a PennDOT card, which notified Raiti that his license could be suspended if he failed to submit to the blood test. Raiti said he did not understand. A little later, Morgan asked again, but Raiti refused, and Morgan left the hospital.

Raiti was charged with driving at an unsafe speed and reckless driving, but the charges were withdrawn.

When PennDOT notified Raiti of the license suspension, he appealed on the basis that his injuries rendered him unable to consciously refuse the blood test.

Raiti presented the deposition testimony of cardiologist Dr. Jeffrey Garrett, who opined that Raiti suffered from hypertensive encephalopathy the night of the accident, which would have left Raiti confused and could have caused him to pass out. Raiti’s systolic blood pressure ranged from 183 to 249, and his diastolic from 131 to 142.

Garrett also testified that he did not know Raiti’s state of mind at the time of the accident, and that he had never seen or treated him.

Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas R. Dobson found Garrett’s testimony “unconvincing” because it was based solely on blood pressure readings, Commonwealth Court said. Dobson gave more weight to the personal observations of Webster and Morgan, and let the suspension stand.

Commonwealth Court Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer, writing for a three-judge panel, said Dobson has the authority to assign weight to the testimony. Dobson did not disregard Garrett’s testimony, he just didn’t credit it as highly as other witnesses, and properly explained why he reached his conclusion.

Raiti’s attorney, Jack W. Cline, said Dobson should not have given police testimony more credibility than a doctor’s opinion on a medical issue.

The suspension has been on hold while the appeal process played out.

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