Drinking and driving is a serious offense. Add bribery to the mix and you’ve got a serious criminal situation. This recently happened to an East Chicago man who walked away from a car accident after driving drunk and then bribed a police officer to perform the Breathalyzer test for him.
The car accident occurred on the morning of Nov. 22. The crash damaged both cars involved. Police got the man’s ID and noticed he smelled strongly of alcohol. While talking with the other driver, police noticed that the man had left the accident scene.
The 39-year-old man was found at his home. Police asked him to submit to a sobriety test, but the man was physically unable to do so. When asked to take a Breathalyzer test, the man refused and bribed the police officer to do it for him. The man told the police officer he would give him $100 to blow into the test for him.
Police were finally able to test the man’s blood alcohol content and it registered at 0.26 – more than triple the legal limit and nearly twice the felony drunk driving level of 0.15. Beside the felony, the man was also charged with intoxication and bribery. He could face up to three years in jail for the drunk driving charge and up to eight years for bribery.
A DUI is typically considered a misdemeanor. However, when a person is highly intoxicated, he or she can face stiffer charges, especially when an injury accident or death is involved. The man’s BAC was excessively high. It’s amazing he was even able to walk away from the accident and find his way home. It is unknown if anyone suffered personal injury in the accident. If they did, they could file a lawsuit against the man for his negligence. Driving in such a condition is considered highly reckless – with no regard for the safety of others.
Source:
Post-Tribune, “East Chicago man walks away from accident scene, charged with felony drunk driving” Ruth Ann Krause, Nov. 29, 2013