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Sleeping University of Georgia student wakes up with DUI charge

| May 14, 2012 | DUI First Offense |

Finals are approaching for high school and college students all across the state of Georgia. While many students may be focused on putting some extra hours of studying in each night, they should also make sure to get enough rest so that they can safely drive to class to take their final exams.

Driving while drowsy is dangerous and could increase an individual’s risk of causing a car accident. However, driving without enough sleep could also get you a night in jail if Athens police think that your lack of attention on the road is actually a result of driving drunk instead of drowsy.

Last week, Athens-Clarke police arrested a University of Georgia student for DUI after the student claimed that he fell asleep at the wheel because he was tired from staying up for almost two entire days.

According to the Athens Banner-Herald, police were called to investigate a traffic jam on Oconee Street on May 9. Police initially thought that a vehicle had broken down on the road and was causing the morning traffic jam. But when police approached the stopped vehicle, they discovered that the driver was asleep at the wheel and that the car’s engine was still running.

Although the student claimed that he only had two beers prior to driving and that he barely had any sleep in the last two days, police still suspected the 23-year-old UGA student of drunk driving and arrested the man.

Driving while extremely tired might not have been the best decision. However, police might not have had enough reason to suspect the student of drunk driving either. It is cases like this one that should prompt folks to seek assistance from an aggressive defense attorney in order to make sure that they do not face legal consequences for charges that should have never been filed against them in the first place.

Source: Athens Banner-Herald, “Sleeping student blocks traffic,” May 10, 2012

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