People v. Wang CA4/3

FACTS

I.

PROSECUTION CASE

In April 2022, defendant’s wife, S.S., worked as a truck driver and arranged to carpool with her male coworker, Z.Z., on a long-distance work trip. S.S. expected to be gone for several days and told defendant she was going on a trip with a coworker. Defendant had not previously met Z.Z. S.S. and Z.Z. met somewhere near her home, and S.S. left her car behind to ride with Z.Z. When asked why Z.Z. did not pick her up from her home, S.S. testified she originally planned to drive but did not feel well after she started driving so she asked Z.Z. to carpool. According to S.S., her work trip was cancelled the next day, and she and Z.Z. returned to where they had left her car and began unloading her belongings from Z.Z.’s car. S.S. testified she had contacted defendant, told him the trip was cancelled, and asked him to meet at her car to assist with her belongings. While S.S. and Z.Z. were unloading items, defendant arrived in his van and ran into both of them. At trial, the prosecutor had S.S. and Z.Z. watch video footage, which depicted defendant running his van into them. S.S. testified she fell over, bruised her leg, and hit her head. Z.Z. testified he…