The defendant was charged with his third offense of driving under the influence. The Defendant was driving on State Road 804 when he crashed into the back of a stationary vehicle at a red light. The impact of the crash totaled the defendant’s vehicle. The defendant was asleep at the wheel when medics arrived. He was tended to and then again fell asleep when the officers had arrived. The arresting officer spent over a minute trying to wake him up. An independent witness saw the defendant’s vehicle recklessly driving down the road and smashing into the other vehicle. The defendant’s speech was slurred and thick and his pupils were pin-point. After waking him up, the defendant stated that he was under the care of a pain management doctor and takes prescription medication. Additionally, prior to conducting roadside exercises, he stated (on video) that he had taken roxycodone and oxycodone that day. He performed poorly on the roadside exercises and was arrested for Driving Under the Influence. At the Breath Alcohol Testing Facility, he gave a breath sample of .000 two times. He then was asked to submit a urine sample. After 45 minutes, he could not give a sample of his urine and the officer took the inability to provide the sample as a refusal. The Firm filed numerous motions including a motion to exclude all of the defendant’s statements based upon the accident report privilege along with motions to suppress based on a lack of probable cause. After the orders were signed by the judge, the State decided to drop the DUI.
DUI & Criminal Division
