The following story may not have occurred here in South Carolina, but the complex circumstances of the incident certainly warrant some discussion.
A man in California was hanging out with his friends in a remote mountain cabin. The two were drinking some wine — when suddenly, the man’s friend began to experience a medical emergency. He was in immense pain and needed a catheter immediately.
Without hesitating, the man helped his friend into the car and they drove off. He sped through town and through multiple red lights when he was stopped by police. He explained the situation, and soon they were off again to the hospital. Thankfully, his friend made it through the medical emergency okay — but the man who was driving was forced to take a blood alcohol test, which came back with the damning result: 0.10, just slightly above the 0.08 legal limit.
He was initially charged with DUI, but local prosecutors refused to pursue the case any further. They dropped the charges.
But here is where it gets a bit more interesting. Since the man was arrested, his license was still suspended because, as a matter of fact, he did do something illegal. He is contesting this move and trying to be found “factually innocent,” which would lead to the reinstatement of his license. Fulfilling this “factually innocent” appeal will not be easy, but he certainly has a decent case to support it. It would seem that his good deed would be enough to carry the day — but “factually innocent” is a very heavy title to carry when, although a technicality, the man did break the law.
Source: News10, “Modesto man says sick friend led him to drive drunk,” George Warren, April 5, 2013
- To learn more, please visit our Rock Hill DUI defense page.
