Pelletti v. Membrila

Defendant, after 12 drinks at four different bars, at 1:30 in the morning, driving his automobile 35 miles an hour on Santa Monica Boulevard in the company of a female companion he had just met, struck and killed a pedestrian in the middle of the block of a well-lighted street with crosswalks. Defendant did not remain at the scene of the accident, but after leaving 116 feet of skid marks continued on his way and only returned 20 minutes later at the direction of a witness to the accident who had followed him.

Question: In a suit for wrongful death should the issue of wilful misconduct of…