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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF IOWA
No. 100 / 05-1281 Filed October 5, 2007 STATE OF IOWA, Appellant, vs. CHRISTOPHER JEROME TARBOX, Appellee.

On review from the Iowa Court of Appeals.

Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Sylvia A. Lewis, District Associate Judge.

The defendant seeks further review of a court of appeals decision reinstating the trial information after the district court granted the defendant's motion to dismiss the information. DECISION OF COURT OF APPEALS VACATED; DISTRICT COURT JUDGMENT AFFIRMED.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Cristen Douglass, Assistant Attorney General, J. Patrick White, County Attorney, and Meredith RichChappell, Assistant County Attorney, for appellant.

Steven E. Ballard and Patrick J. Ford of Leff Law Firm, L.L.P., Iowa City, for appellee.

2 WIGGINS, Justice. In his petition for further review Christopher Jerome Tarbox asks this court to reverse the court of appeals decision finding the district court erred when it dismissed the trial information charging him with leaving the scene of an accident in violation of Iowa Code section 321.261 (2003). Tarbox claims because he was involved in a single-vehicle accident, and he was the only person who suffered a personal injury, his conduct did not violate section 321.261. Accepting the facts alleged by the State in the trial

information and minutes as true, we agree with Tarbox that his conduct of leaving the scene of the single-vehicle accident did not violate section 321.261. Accordingly, we vacate the decision of the court of appeals and affirm the decision of the district court. I. Prior Proceedings. The State charged Tarbox with leaving the scene of a personal injury accident in violation of Iowa Code section 321.261. Tarbox filed a motion to dismiss the trial information claiming first, the trial information did not establish he was the driver of the vehicle at the time of the accident, and second, the driver of the vehicle had no duty to perform the duties required by section 321.261. The State filed a notice of additional testimony

addressing Tarbox's first claim. The State also filed a resistance responding to both issues raised by Tarbox. The district court granted Tarbox's motion to dismiss finding none of the driver's statutory duties required by section 321.261 apply when there is a single-vehicle accident resulting in an injury to the driver. The State appealed the decision of the district court claiming it erred in dismissing the trial information. We transferred the case to our court of appeals. The

3 court of appeals reversed and remanded the case to the district court for trial. Tarbox then petitioned our court for further review, which we granted. II. Issue. In this appeal we must decide whether the district court erred when it dismissed the trial information. III. Standard of Review. This court reviews a district court's order to dismiss a trial information for correction of errors at law. State v. Petersen, 678 N.W.2d 611, 613 (Iowa 2004). In reviewing the dismissal of the trial information, we accept the facts alleged by the State in the information and attached minutes as true. State v. Gonzalez, 718 N.W.2d 304, 307 (Iowa 2006). We will reverse the district court's dismissal if the facts alleged by the State "charge a crime as a matter of law." Id. Additionally, we review questions of statutory interpretation for correction of errors at law. Id. IV. Facts. According to the trial information we accept the following facts as true. On December 17, 2004, three witnesses observed a beige Mitsubishi Galant traveling north on Governor Street, a one-way street in Iowa City. As the vehicle approached the intersection of Governor Street and Iowa Avenue, the driver lost control and hit a cement wall. The vehicle came to a complete stop. The cement wall was not located on private property, and other than damage to the Galant, no other property damage occurred. After the Galant stopped, the three witnesses saw the only occupant of the vehicle, a white male approximately six feet tall with brown hair, exit the Galant from the driver's side. The male fled the area and left the vehicle where it had come to rest at the scene. The witnesses observed the male had injuries to his face. The witnesses then contacted the Iowa City police.

4 Iowa City police officers Bill Welch and Terry Tack arrived on the scene, finding the Galant damaged from its collision with the cement wall. The officers found the vehicle's airbags deployed. The officers completed an accident report and noted the vehicle's path of travel based on their conversations with the witnesses. During their investigation the officers found a cellular phone close to the intersection. The officers took the cellular phone as evidence. They determined the phone belonged to Tarbox. After running the license plates of the Galant, they established Marie Rolling Tarbox owned the vehicle. Later that evening Iowa City police officers Zach Diersen and Marcus Mittvalsky went to Tarbox's residence and spoke with him. The officers found Tarbox matched the physical description of the driver of the Galant provided by the eyewitnesses. Tarbox had fresh injuries on his face. Based on Mittvalsky's experience and training as a former firefighter, he believed these injuries were consistent with those caused by airbag deployment. V. Analysis. The State charged Tarbox with violating section 321.261. Section 321.261(1) provides: [t]he driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to . . . any person shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident or as close as possible and if able, shall then return to and remain at the scene of the accident in accordance with section 321.263. Iowa Code

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