Smith v. State

── Smith v. State ── Court: Supreme Court of Delaware Date: May 27, 2026 Category: General IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE GEORGE SMITH, § § No. 321, 2025 Defendant Below, § Appellant, § § Court Below: Superior Court v. § of the State of Delaware § STATE OF DELAWARE § Cr. ID. No. 2105010115 § Appellee. § Submitted: April 22, 2026 Decided: May 27, 2026 Before SEITZ, Chief Justice; TRAYNOR and LEGROW, Justices. ORDER After considering the parties’ briefs and the Superior Court record, it appears to the Court that: (1) On May 10, 2020, shortly after 12 a.m., George Smith was driving his Dodge Challenger (“the Challenger”) in the center lane of Interstate 495 (“I-495”) approaching the Christina River Bridge. Before the collision, Smith passed two vehicles whose occupants later testified at trial.1 Two of the witnesses reported that 1 Two witnesses, Leandra Hoffman and her daughter, Erica Hoffman, were ahead of Smith in the middle lane of I-495 traveling approximately 72 mph. Leandra was driving and Erica was in the front passenger seat. The third witness, Nathan Smith—no relation to Appellant—was traveling on I-495 in the area of Terminal Avenue at approximately 65 to 70 mph. 1 Smith was operating at such a speed that they could hear the Challenger in the distance approaching from behind. The witnesses, who were traveling slightly above the posted speed limit,2 testified that the Challenger passed them at such a rate of speed that their vehicles shook and it was as if they were standing still.3 The witnesses reportedly lost sight of the Challenger as it crested the highest part of the Christina River Bridge. As the witnesses went over the bridge, they saw that Smith had struck a Toyota RAV4 farther ahead. The RAV4 was off the roadway and on fire. The driver of the RAV4, Melanie Toto, died as a result of the fire. (2) Delaware State Police Corporal David Hudak responded to the scene. Cpl. Hudak discovered the Challenger, with front-end damage, disabled in the middle lane of I-495. Cpl. Hudak found Smith still seated in the driver’s seat of the Challenger. Cpl. Hudak did not believe Smith was impaired and testified that he saw no indicia of alcohol or drug use. (3) Lieutenant Dermot Alexander of the Delaware State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit was called to the scene to investigate the cause of the fatal crash.4 Lt. Alexander testified that his investigation revealed that Toto was driving the RAV4 in the center lane of I-495. The Challenger struck the RAV4 from behind 2 The posted speed limit for this portion of I-495 is 65 mph. 3 Smith does not contest that he was “driving at an incredibly high rate of speed.” See Appellant’s Corrected Opening Br. at 5. 4 Lieutenant Alexander held the rank of Sergeant at the time of the crash. 2 in a direct, inline, rear-end collision. The Challenger finally stopped approximately 1,200 feet from the point of impact. The impact caused the RAV4 to leave the center lane, travel off the roadway to the right, and go down an embankment. After the RAV4 left the roadway, it flipped and ultimately stopped upright facing oncoming traffic. After the collision, the RAV4 caught fire with Toto still inside. Toto was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy showed that the fire and resulting burns caused Toto’s death.5 (4) Lt. Alexander testified that his investigation included recovering data from the Challenger’s A