The Defendant pulled into a gas station at approximately 25 mph and crashed into a legally parked vehicle. After stepping out of the car and going inside the gas station, the police were called. The officer noticed that the defendant had red, glossy, droopy eyes and was unsteady on her feet. She had an odor of alcohol coming from her breath and admitted to drinking 2 vodka tonics hours ago. Her speech was slow and slurred. During roadside tasks the defendant stepped off the line, missed heel to toe several times and stopped to steady her self. Additionally, during the one leg stand task, she used her arms to balance and her legs were trembling to try to keep her balance. She could not recite the alphabet correctly and had to pause 5 times during the task. The officer arrested the defendant and took her to the Palm Beach County Breath Alcohol Testing Facility. She was asked to submit to a breath sample and she refused. She admitted that she was out during the evening drinking vodka. During the discovery process, the Firm found out that there was a video of the accident through the gas station that was destroyed. Additionally, the Firm pointed out to the State Attorneys Office that the Police Department knew about the video but did nothing to try and preserve it. Furthermore, the firm pointed out that the roadside exercises, on their face, were actually performed pretty well and that the defendant did not seem impaired at the breath facility. On the day of trial, the State dismissed the charges for Driving Under the Influence Causing Damage to Person or Property.
DUI & Criminal Division
