A thirty five year-old Maryland man is faced with DUI Charges stemming from his allegedly causing a head-on collision with a motorcycle rider. The accident, which happened a year prior to the trial, left the man on the motorcycle severely injured. He suffered broken bones, lacerated internal organs and brain trauma. Additionally, the motorcyclist was left in a coma for three months as a result of the accident.
The thirty five year-old man refused to take a breathalyzer test at the scene of the accident. However, court documents show that the thirty five year-old was stumbling and smelled of alcohol at the time of the crash.
The accused in this case faces serious DUI charges in connection with this car accident. He stands accused of drunken driving while causing serious bodily harm to an individual. The accused will have to mount a defense that disapproves any accusations that he was drunk at the time of the accident. At trial, the prosecution may have to rely heavily on circumstantial evidence of the accused’s drunkenness to get a conviction. They would rely on circumstantial evidence due to the apparent lack of direct evidence of his blood alcohol level. Circumstantial evidence in this situation would be the testimony of the individual police officers, or emergency personnel on hand, testifying to witnessing the accused’s alleged drunken behavior. They would detail the accused’s stumbling and the smell of alcohol that existed on his body after the crash. These two facts alone may not be conclusive as to his intoxication level.
The accusations against the defendant in this case are serious. The accused must mount a defense that disproves any testimony that would insinuate that he was drunk at the time of the crash; he may do so by pointing to the lack of a breathalyzer test that shows his intoxication level, and by explaining his post-crash behavior. This defendant will need to rely on a skilled attorney, well versed in DUI defense, to assist him in either getting the charges against him dropped or negotiated to a lesser charge.
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Source: Washington Post Local, “DUI trial begins for man accused of injuring Army vet”, Dan Morse and Justin Jouvenal, May 24, 2013