A 35-year-old woman was taken into custody on June 16 on charges of drunken driving while carrying children in the car she was driving, according to reports. The woman, from Rome, Georgia, faces one count of DUI, two counts of endangering a child by DUI and charges pertaining to probation and open container violations in the incident.
According to police reports, the incident happened when a Rome police officer pulled the woman over just before 11 p.m. at the intersection of East Eighth Street and Second Avenue in accordance with a report by an individual who alerted local law enforcement officials of two intoxicated female drivers who left the Sunrise Inn on Martha Berry Boulevard in a green Honda. The officer stated that a 35-year-old female was driving the Honda along with another female passenger and two children. Also inside the Honda, the police officer located whiskey in a Styrofoam cooler.
After the driver consented to a breath test, the officer detained her on suspicion of DUI. It was reported that her intoxication level, according to the alcohol screening device, was .145 percent and .146 percent, which exceeds Georgia’s legal limit of .08 percent in determining driver impairment. She was detained in the Floyd County Jail without bond.
It was not indicated in this incident if the accused driver was given a field sobriety test or if her blood sample was taken. In many cases, breath alcohol tests often prove inaccurate in proving a person’s intoxication level alone. A criminal defense attorney representinga driver who has been accused of DUI may possibly question if the testing device was properly calibrated. If a blood test was taken, the attorney may question if the sample was properly handled and stored. By challenging the allegations in court, the attorney may be able to weaken the charges, which may result in penalties being mitigated.
Source: RN-T.com, “Woman accused of driving drunk with 2 kids, probation violation has no bond”, Alan Riquelmy, June 17, 2014