A Weymouth plow driver was charged with Massachusetts Drunk Driving for alleged driving his pickup truck into cars during the last snow storm.
According to another driver, the plow driver was allegedly driving on the wrong side of the road when he struck his car and then kept on going. According to the Weymouth police department, the plow driver hit a total of 7 cars that night.
Police allege that the plow driver didn’t realize that he had struck the vehicles when he was located at South Shore Hospital where he went to visit a patient there.
The plow driver is charged with Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol and Leaving the Scene of an Accident.
In defending OUI / DUI crimes, it is necessary for the police to establish that the operator’s ability to operate the vehicle safely was impaired due to his intoxication to alcohol. Where the person allegedly fled the scene and where there is no evidence of a breathalyzer test or field sobriety tests, the prosecution’ burden becomes that much more difficult.
Most drivers are not even aware that if they are ever pulled over for suspected drunk driving and are asked to perform field sobriety tests that they have an absolute right to refuse. Despite the fact that field sobriety tests, in and of themselves, are not all that reliable anyways, prosecutors place great emphasis when the police allege that the person failed the tests. Additionally, an operator’s refusal to submit to field sobriety tests is not admissible against him if he ultimately decides to proceed to trial.
The same holds true for Massachusetts Breathalyzer Test Refusals. Although a driver will face a lengthier suspension of his license for refusing to submit to a chemical breath tests, the operator’s refusal cannot be held against him and cannot be introduced as evidence of consciousness of guilty against him at trial.
Whether a driver was ‘somewhat impaired’ or ‘totally wasted’ when charged with DUI / OUI, there is almost always some defensible issues that can be explored in his defense.
Boston Drunk Driving Lawyer Lefteris K. Travayiakis can be reached at 617-325-9500 or online by Requesting a Free Consultation with a Massachusetts DUI / OUI Lawyer.