State v. Osborne

WALLER, Justice:

Respondent Elmer Osborne was convicted in magistrate’s court of driving under the influence (“DOT”) in violation of S.C.Code Ann. § 56-5-2930 (1976). The circuit court reversed, finding the State1 failed to prove the corpus delicti. The Court of Appeals affirmed the circuit court’s ruling. State v. Osborne, 321 S.C. 196, 467 S.E.2d 454 (Ct.App.1996). We granted the State’s petition for certiorari, and now reverse.

FACTS

At 11:17 p.m. on November 24, 1991, Trooper J.M. Bagwell arrived at the scene of a one-car accident. The car had gone off the road and hit a speed limit sign. It…