Even though a Georgia woman blew a zero when she was asked by police to take a breath test, police proceeded to arrest the woman. The woman, who is a teacher, was charged with DUI.
Police noted that although the woman was apparently not driving under the influence of alcohol, the woman may have been driving under the influence of some other substance. According to police, the woman had struck another vehicle and hit a median while she was driving. After getting into the accident, the woman failed to stop and continued driving.
After the accident was reported, an officer spotted the woman’s vehicle and attempted to pull the woman over. The officer reported that the woman failed to pull over when the officer first activated his vehicle’s lights. The woman continued driving, and while the officer was following her, she allegedly had failed to maintain her traffic lane.
When the woman did pull over for the officer, she acknowledged that she had struck another vehicle. The officer suspected the woman of DUI, and he administered a breath test. The test result was zero.
Although the breath test revealed that the woman was not driving under the influence of alcohol, the woman was still arrested for DUI. Police reported that the woman had a difficult time following instructions when police asked her to take a field sobriety test. Police also reported that the woman had difficulty keeping her balance.
After the woman was arrested, she was taken to a local hospital to have her blood drawn. A blood test will reveal whether the woman had any drugs or medications in her system while she was behind the wheel.
The woman claims that she did not have any drugs, medications or alcohol in her system when she was driving. In order to make sure her rights remain protected, she may want to contact an attorney if she has not done so already. When defendants proceed with their DUI cases with an aggressive defense strategy, they may be able to avoid or reduce the social and legal consequences of an arrest.
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Cops: DUI preschool teacher crashes, keeps going,” Alexis Stevens, May 7, 2013