THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 14, 1995 TAG: 9512140357
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANGELITA PLEMMER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
Retired Portsmouth Circuit Judge L. Cleaves Manning was driving eastbound on U.S. Route 58, laden with food from Taco Bell for his wife's lunch.
But Manning, a former state legislator who still sits as a substitute judge, apparently was unaware that his car had just struck a wooden utility pole, knocking it across the four-lane highway, according to witnesses.
As he continued to drive eastbound near the Suffolk Airport on Oct. 3, cables from the pole trailed behind his car, the witnesses said. The front of the car had been wrecked by the pole's impact.
After neighbors called police and two women forced him to pull over, Manning was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. He had a blood alcohol content of .16, twice the legal limit.
Manning, 66, pleaded guilty Friday in Chesapeake General District Court to driving under the influence.
Warren Kozak, Manning's defense attorney, asked retired Richmond Circuit Court Judge Lemuel DeBerry to take the case under advisement, on the condition that Manning remain on good behavior for one year, receive alcohol treatment and be granted a restricted license, allowing him to drive to and from work and make medical appointments.
DeBerry, who was brought in as a special substitute judge to hear the case, took the case under advisement.
``He wasn't convicted,'' Kozak said. ``There was no finding.''
If Manning remains on good behavior for a year, Kozak said, the charge may be reduced to reckless driving. The maximum penalty for the DUI charge is 12 months in jail, a $2,500 fine and a suspended license.
Kozak said the results of Manning's breathalyzer test were faulty because blood from a mouth injury Manning sustained during the collision affected the results.
Kozak said Manning was also under the influence of medication that may have affected his ability to drive.
But Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Paul Hedges asked for a stiffer penalty despite the judge's otherwise clean driving record.
``The facts of this case were more serious than the average DUI in that the thing we fear most - that is, an accident - had occurred,'' Hedges said Wednesday. ``We were most interested that the record reflect that the judge acknowledged that he was guilty.''
One witness, Kimberley Hutchinson, said she and a friend were driving on U.S. 58 when they saw a wooden utility pole in the middle of the highway.
As motorists drove around the pole, Hutchinson said in an interview Wednesday, ``originally, I thought maybe a tractor-trailer hit it. I couldn't imagine someone could hit that and keep going.''
As they approached a small traffic jam, they saw Manning driving with cables dragging from his left rear axle.
``We got up next to him because I thought he had run over it,'' Hutchinson said. ``I didn't think he knew he had it.
``He looked at us and his face was bleeding.'' She said she told her friend, who was driving, ``We need to get him to pull over.''
When Hutchinson saw the damage on the front of his car, ``I thought he had had a stroke or something. . . so we were beeping the horn and waving at him.''
Driving alongside him at 55 or 60 mph, Hutchinson said she rolled down her window and sat on the in the open window and waved to get his attention.
``I was waving at him to pull over,'' she said. Eventually her friend began to veer toward Manning's car, forcing him off the road.
``We asked if he okay and if he knew he was bleeding,'' Hutchinson said after they took his car keys. ``He didn't know what was going on.''
Inside his car, Hutchinson said, food from Taco Bell was scattered over the front seat. Manning explained that he needed to get home to take his wife lunch.
``He got out of his car and he started walking toward the front of it,'' she said. ``He looked down and asked what happened. . . He didn't know anything had happened.''
Shortly afterward, Hutchinson said, a state trooper arrived, followed by several others.
Manning, who sustained minor injuries, was arrested and later released on a personal recognizance bond four hours after his arrest.
Manning, who has not been assigned any new cases since his arrest, could be removed from the state Supreme Court's list of substitute judges.
KEYWORDS: ARREST DRUNKEN DRIVING ACCIDENT TRAFFIC
INJURIES by CNB