Hargrove v. Commonwealth

In Hargrove v. Commonwealth, 10 Va. App. 618, 394 S.E.2d 729 (1990), a tired driver dozed off while driving home after working the midnight to 8:00 a.m. shift, and struck and killed a pedestrian. The evidence was insufficient to support an involuntary manslaughter conviction because the evidence did not exclude the reasonable hypothesis that Hargrove, who had not previously dozed off while driving prior to the accident, could reasonably have believed that he could drive himself home without endangering human life. Id. at 622, 394 S.E.2d at 732. The evidence failed to show that Hargrove's falling asleep while driving showed a willful, wanton, reckless disregard for human life. At most, the evidence showed that Hargrove was negligent.