An appeals court ruled Wednesday that a Davenport teen should not have beenfound guilty for his role in a 1998 auto accident that killed a 3-year-oldboy.Joseph Butler Jr., who was 15 at the time, was the driver of a stolen carthat hit and killed Steven Choate as he played outside his grandparents’home. He and two others fled the scene after the accident. Butler pleaded guilty to second-degree theft and vehicular homicide. The appeals court overturned the homicide conviction, saying Butler’s drivingwas not reckless.
