KFI AM 640 reports that on Tuesday, July 27, 2021, the California Supreme Court refused to review an appeal of a DUI case that convicted former elementary school principal Mary Noel Kruppe of second-degree murder.
According to court documents, Kruppe is now serving 15 years to life in prison for her role in a fatal crash that happened on November 15, 2018, and killed a 29-year-old woman.
A three-justice panel of California’s Second District Court of Appeals rejected Kruppe’s defense that argued that there was insufficient evidence that Kruppe had the subjective knowledge that she had engaged in behavior that was dangerous to human life.
Kruppe had been driving Southbound on 50th Street when her Jeep Wrangler collided head-on with a 2010 Mazda being driven by the victim. Police declared the victim to be dead at the scene while Kruppe was taken to the hospital with moderate injuries.
The Appellate Court handed down their ruling on May 20 of this year saying:
“Defendant was not someone who had a drink or two and marginally exceeded the legal limit; the undisputed testimony was that the defendant consumed in excess of four drinks and was well over the legal limit.”
Two hours after the fatal crash Kruppe had a blood alcohol level of 0.19 percent – more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
The Second District Court of Appeals panel further stated that the jurors have “inferred that the defendant did, in fact, possess the common knowledge of the hazards of driving while intoxicated.”
The panel concluded that while it was a close case, their conclusion was that the evidence against the defendant was sufficient.
