Driving under the influence is never acceptable, and those who do so place others’ lives in danger. However, it is also true that Louisiana law enforcement may sometimes be overly zealous in their attempts to stop drunk driving. Additionally, tests that determine the intoxication of a driver are not always reliable, and the precision of this kind of evidence is crucial when a driver is accused of vehicular homicide.
A 29-year-old man on a motorcycle approached an intersection around 11 p.m. one Saturday night. As the bike entered the intersection, the 62-year-old driver of a pickup truck waiting to turn left suddenly pulled into the path of the motorcycle. The two vehicles collided, and the operator of the motorcycle was thrown to the pavement. He was apparently not wearing a helmet and did not have a license to operate a motorcycle.
Medical responders transported the younger man to the hospital, but he did not survive his injuries. The driver of the pickup truck was not injured. However, when police administered a chemical breath test, it read higher than .08, so they placed him under arrest. Louisiana police charged him with vehicular homicide and failing to stop for a stop sign. A toxicology report on the deceased motorcycle driver has not been reported.
The situation is critical for the accused since the penalties for vehicular homicide are steep. Someone fighting such charges may present the court with mitigating circumstances, such as the toxicology report of the victim if it shows that he, too, was intoxicated. A skillful defensive strategy provides a decided advantage for those facing the potential penalties of a drunk driving conviction.
Source: klfy.com, “Alcohol suspected in fatal motorcycle crash that killed a Baldwin man“, Aug. 6, 2017