There’s No Substitution For Experience

By Brian D. Roman, Attorney at Law

We are taught to inform police whenever we are involved in car accident. One Massachusetts man recently did just that – and now, he is regretting that decision after police decided to charge him with  DUI.

In the early morning hours of Jan. 15, the 21-year-old man walked to a police station and reported that he was involved in a car accident. Police noticed that the man’s breath smelled of alcohol. Police asked the man to perform a breath test and several sobriety tests. The man failed all of them, and the breath test showed that his BAC level was over the legal limit.

Police slapped the man with two charges: driving to endanger and driving under the influence. The man pleaded not guilty and was released. He was ordered not to drink alcohol.

Although it may have been the police officer’s instinct to connect the alcohol with the accident, there really is no proof that the man was drinking while intoxicated. The police officer did not catch the man in the act of drinking and driving at the same time. Although he may have been drunk at the police station, it is possible that the man may have consumed the alcohol after the accident, not before. The accident could have happened many hours before the police visit.

The man complied with the police officers’ requests. He submitted to a breath test and performed the sobriety tests. Now, he will have to face the alcohol-related charges in court. A conviction can have serious consequences, such as loss of driving privileges, high fines and possibly even jail time. Presenting a strong defense is one way to increase his chances of a positive outcome in the case.

Source : ABC 40, “ Mass. Man Arrested for DUI After Reporting Crash ” No author given, Jan. 16, 2014

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