Violation: DUI (blood test) and potential Vehicular Assault – Wilson County
Result: Charges reduced to Reckless Endangerment
Details: Client was driving a vehicle with his girlfriend in the passenger seat. There was a one car accident where the driver received minor injuries but his girlfriend passenger was severely injured. A blood test was obtained from the driver was over the legal limit. A significant fear in the case was that the state would amend the DUI charge to vehicular assault, a class D felony.
My investigator discovered that, due to a mechanical error, the video tape of the arrest was lost. We managed to have the girlfriend appear in court and insist that she did not desire any additional charge based on her injuries. We further filed a motion challenging the arrest as the field sobriety test were conducted on our client after a serious accident in which there were injuries.
As a result of all the above information, we were able to not only avoid felony vehicular assault charges but managed to have the DUI charge amended to reckless endangerment, maintaining the client’s driving privileges and his employment.