DUIQuestion

Hi all.

I did a google search for a DUI messageboard and this site came up as one of the search results. I'm extremely confused right now as well as concerned. Back on April 29th I was driving home from a restaurant and had made it almost all the way there when I rounded a corner and slammed into the back of an illegally parked semi on a very dark, winding, unlit residential street.

Fortunately, I was able to swerve just enough at the last minute to narrowly avoid being decapitated as was stated by the paramedics and confirmed when I went to see my vehicle at the junk yard after I was discharged from the hospital. That's the good news. Living to see another day but still scary in that if I had a passenger, they would have been killed.

What makes no sense to me is the following:

When I was in the ambulance en route to the hospital one of the police officers administered a breathalizer test even though I had told them I hadn't been drinking. The officer said it was "standard procedure" and claimed that I blew a .125. It's possible I misheard him though as the paramedics were asking me a bunch of questions to determine whether or not I had suffered a concussion, taking my BP, pulse, etc.

At the hospital, the officer asked if I would consent to a blood test and I cooperated. For the most part, the officers were being pretty nice about everything but a threatening comment was made after my blood sample was taken by their "Blood Tech" that I "Better hope nothing came back".

I was never read any rights nor arrested and after it was determined that I didn't have any serious injuries, I was discharged from the hospital later that same day.

Now, all of a sudden, nearly a month after the accident I received a copy of the police report so that I could file my insurance claim (and potential lawsuit) against the trucking company that had their vehicle illegally parked in the lane of a residential street at night with no lights. The report is FULL of inconsistencies listed below:

1) On one page it lists the time of the accident as 5:12am, on another page it says "at dawn", another page lists 5:37am and another page says 5:24am.

2) On one page the officer reports that I told him "I must have misjudged where the vehicle was parked" and then on another page he claims I told him that I "dozed off". ? Are you smelling the fish yet?

3) He said that he arrested me but yet the first time I find out about this alleged "arrest" is nearly a month later?

4) In the report, the officer now alleges that I blew a .185.

5) The closing sentence of the report states that I would be released pending the blood test results.

I was discharged from the hospital, was picked up by a friend, and that's the end of the story until today when I received the requested copy of the police report in an email. I immediately contacted an attorney but could only speak to a paralegal. The woman accessed a website that is tied into the court/legal system, and said that nothing was showing on my record.

What the heck is going on here? I won't be able to do anything until Tuesday because of the holiday weekend but I'm very confused and concerned, mostly because of how this will impact the insurance claim and potential lawsuit.

Thanks in advance to anybody who might be able to help me understand this situation.

crittery

Just make sure to point out all the inconsistencies if you have to go to court. Don't lie if they ask if you'd been drinking because it sounds like they already know. It's best to get a lawyer to deal with all the BS so you don't have to.

Good luck, and I hope you've learnt your lesson. It's the police vs you, and they've already lied in their report (unless you've recalled incorrectly) the judge will hopefully be sympathetic.

Also stating the obvious but you should quit drinking if you haven't already.

laurie6781

To cover your Azz, contact an attorney and give the attorney a copy of the 'police report' noting the discrepancies. You may also need the attorney to fight with your insurance company for reimbursement since the 'police report' is so clear (please note dripping with sarcasm lol) sheesh

Best to CYA and get a legal opinion.

Based on that report it sounds like an up and coming minefield for the insurance companies.

J M H O

Love and hugs,

workingtheday

Brief response....First glad your ok. In regards to all of the information you listed, it is very confusing. I know you want an answer now, its weighing on your mind. But, you did the right thing, you need a lawyer to find out what the hell is exactly what here. They will have much better access to the police, documents filed, etc. They may be able to decipher whatever documentation you received in the mail better than you. Lastly, whatever is going on or comes of this, the court system is much more willing to work with lawyers than individuals.

Unfortunately it is a holiday weekend and your going to have to wait until at least Tuesday to find out more. There simply is nothing you can do about that. In the meantime take some solace in the fact that no one is going ot be coming banging down your door looking to arrest you over the weekend. You will get a chance to speak with you lawyer and go from there.

DUIQuestion

Crittery,

I'm not sure that I understand your response. A great big semi was illegally parked on an unlit residential road at night. Anybody could have hit it and I'm lucky to be alive.

Is there a possibility that I didn't recall everything? Yeah I suppose given that I was in a near fatal car accident and was pretty spooked but everything from shortly after the impact throughout the time in the hospital is pretty starkly engraved in my mind. It's the inconsistencies and fabrications of the police report that have me concerned.

Perhaps I should have rephrased the title of the thread as I have not been arrested, charged, or even cited with a DUI and it's now a full 30 days after the accident.

Laurie and workingtheday,

Thanks to both and Laurie I appreciate the humor as I needed a chuckle! I've been receiving a ton of letters in the mail from personal injury lawyers who found out in whatever database they use that I was in an accident. At the same time though, if this "implied" DUI nonsense was legitimate, you'd think I'd be receiving letters from DUI defense attorneys rather than personal injury lawyers.

I'm not at all concerned or worried about the police "banging down my door to arrest me" because it's already been a month since the accident. I guess I'll end for the night with two final questions and will continue to be appreciative of any thoughts, comments, or advice:

1) Is it possible that the officer mixed my report with someone else's?
2) Even if we assume I was intoxicated the way the report indicates, then is it normal for an entire month to go by without me even being cited, arrested, or contacted about it? I'm pretty sure that people who do blow illegal limits in a breathalizer are arrested on the spot, taken into custody, and then probably have to post some kind of bond or bail then set a trial/hearing.

That's the part that puzzles me the most, not that the whole thing isn't puzzling.

crittery

I'm glad you're ok, but now I'm confused. You told the police officers you hadn't been drinking, yet you blew over the limit. You haven't told us exactly what happened nor denied drinking so I cannot give you a proper response.

If you didn't drink anything and the police fabricated that part, or made a mistake, definitely get a lawyer and fight it - because you're innocent and it was 100% the truck owners fault. In this case I'm deeply sorry and I misjudged you.

Latte

Talk to a lawyer. I understand about the holiday weekend but Tuesday will come fast enough. The fact that they didn't cuff you to a bed in the ER pretty much says that they didn't think they had enough to arrest you.

Hope you find out some answers soon.

Hevyn

Crittery - When I got my DUI there was no question about it, since I was not allowed to drive home. (I realize it was different for you, since you were in the ER.) I was taken to a police station & someone had to pick me up. Car was taken to an impound. I was given a ticket that clearly stated my license was being suspended on a certain date, and was instructed to go to the Court of Common Pleas where they gave me a hearing date. It was very clear that I'd been arrested for DUI. It doesn't sound like you were charged - but as the others have said, legal advice is the only way to know for sure. Very bizarre situation - hope it all works out for you.

totfit

From what I gather, this is merely a copy of a police report. You have not been charged with anything it does not appear. Since you have not been charged, there is not DUI. Likely, other than possible insurance hurdles you will never hear any more about it. It is possible that charges could be brought at a later date, but really I would not think likely. The best thing to do is not to inquire and bring attention to the matter. If they want you, they will let you know. Since you were not charged immediately, it may be a difficult cast to persue anyway. If you have not had to post bond, you have not been charged. I would not "pay" for an attorney either unless I was charged. As far as the liability in the accident, there are issues, but unless you want to sue for anything more than standard liability, your insurance company will handle all. This is where things could get tricky as far as future charges, which is still not likely. The absolute best thing to do is to keep things as low key as possible.

1983ritag

The laws in each state vary. If they have blood and breath tests to show that you were clearly over the legal limit, chances are they will charge you with a dui. It has only been 30 days. My brother has 3 duis, he was very intoxicated or rude to the officer for 2 of them. He was never arrested or taken to jail for any of them. He simply received a ticket in the mail several weeks later. That seems to be the process around here with most people I know that have duis. If this happened to me, I would expect a ticket in the mail. Otherwise it seems you got very lucky. All that matters though is that you are alive, dui or not, this could have been way worse. Hopefully this will turn out to be a positive learning experience for you. Good luck & I wish you the best.

Taking5

OK so were you drinking or not? Your OP doesn't really say.

Anna

Yes, my question is 'Were you sober?' If not, then you are moving into murky water.

I think talking to a lawyer is the best way to deal with this, and you do want to be sure to clear up everything so that it doesn't end up showing as a police record.

DUIQuestion

I see where a few of you are coming from so my apologies if it wasn't 100% clear. I had stated:

Which to me was expressing that I wasn't drunk and that's why it made no sense. So to clarify: no I wasn't. I was driving home from a breakfast restaurant, not a bar, a friend's or any other place where alcohol was present.

There wasn't a whole lot that came back when I googled "DUI messageboard" but there was a cached link to a discussion on here so I figured I'd put it out there as I was totally blindsided by this report with all of its inaccuracies and inconsistencies.

I hope that you all understand why I'm concerned and confused though. I've never been in trouble with the law so when I received my requested copy of the police report yesterday to initiate the insurance claim, I took the statements very seriously as I did not want it to interfere with the claim and I especially did not want to be accused of a crime I didn't commit. Stranger things have happened though and that's why they make movies about it.

I do find it odd that I'm sitting here 30 days later with no charge, arrest, citation, license suspension, notice to appear in court, etc given the pretty damaging comments in that report. [takes a deep breath]

I'll talk to the attorney about it on Tuesday. Thank you though to everybody here who offered a reply to calm me down a bit because yeah: I was pretty freaked out last night and with the long weekend, it's given me a lot of undue anxiety and stress.

WritingFromLife

Sorry to belabor the question, I'm trying to understand--is it possible you HAD been drinking and stopped for several hours? I've seen situations where someone drank quite a bit, evening into the night, then went to sleep, and still blew a decent BAC # the next morning. I am hearing you say you weren't drunk, but was there a possiblility of any alcohol in your system? Regardless, I can see why you were freaked out either way, and waiting til after the holiday to find out can be excruciating. Legal advice probably is your best bet--doesn't sound to me like you've been charged with anything, though.

Taking5

Yes, morning after DUIs are easy to get.

BackToSquareOne

One thing to consider is that 4 different people could see an accident and you might get 4 different versions of what happened. The police were there after the fact and were only reporting their version of the information they gathered.

I would think that if you failed the blood alcohol test at the hospital that you would have been notified by now. You also never mentioned what the truck was doing there, was it broke down? Seems kind of odd that a semi would just be parked in the travel lane with no lights or reflectors set out on the road.

daveinmd

I've been in that situation before and they are waiting for your bloodwork to come back.It could take up to 6 or 8 weeks till they get back to you. They had probable cause because of the breathalizer test. If you werent drinking you have nothing to worry about. Blood work doesnt lie. I wish you the best, patience is what you need right now, anger will just make this worse.

ACT10Npack

DUIQuestion I'm confuse about if you were drinking or not. Your first post said that you didn't drink but the next post you said that you were not drunk. Those 2 statements are completely different. Getting an .185 BAC is not hard to do. Drinking 8 standard size drinks will get you there. What county and state you got the up in the air DUI? A blood test should not take that long to get back with the results. Getting a lawyer now is very important and make sure you write down everything that happen.

The question I would like to know was were you drinking that night anytime before you drive and how many?

Taking5

DUIquestion,

Telling the cops you hadn't been drinking does not mean you weren't drinking. It could be that you just lied to the cops, something a lot of us have done in our drinking days.

So when was the last time you had a drink before this accident? How many drinks? The "morning after" DUI is a real possibility.

DUIQuestion

I know. I stated very specifically in the first post that I wasn't drinking but apparently that wasn't sufficient and a few people wanted some clarification despite the fact that I already said I wasn't drinking. When asked to clarify whether or not I was "sober", well "drunk" is the opposite of sober; it is sober's antonym.

I'm not going to sit here and argue semantics. Was I sober? Yes. Was I drinking? No. Was I drunk? No.

As for the comment regarding me not indicating what the semi was doing there? Please read what's been posted. Illegally parked, as indicated by me in this thread and documented in the police report. I don't know why it was there. If I could answer that, I probably wouldn't have run into it.

Thanks for the help folks. Good luck.