A woman has been arrested for driving under the influence after a car accident that killed another individual, according to news releases. Nevada authorities have detained and charged the suspected woman with drunk driving resulting in death as well as several other charges. She was later released on her own recognizance and is awaiting a trial date.
According to the accident report, around 4:00 a.m. the morning of Sept. 24, Nye County Sheriff’s officers responded to reports of a car accident. Upon arriving at the crash site, deputies determined two vehicles had been involved. The driver of the second vehicle was airlifted to a local hospital, while the passenger in that vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the first vehicle is believed to have caused the crash by failing to stop at a marked stop sign. After being taken to the hospital, deputies obtained a search warrant that allowed them to collect a blood sample from her. The results of toxicology tests have not been made public at this time, but they did lead to the woman being charged with DUI causing death, DUI causing bodily harm and failing to stop at a stop sign.
As in any drunk driving case, the burden of proof lies with the Nevada prosecution. It is incumbent upon them to provide compelling evidence that the woman was actually intoxicated at the time of the accident. While blood tests can be helpful pieces of evidence in court, they do not represent inarguable proof of guilt. The defense may wish to challenge the duration of time it took for the blood test to be administered, since blood tests taken hours, or even minutes, after an accident may not be indicative of the subject’s blood alcohol level at the time of the crash.
Source: mynews4.com, “DUI suspect arrested after fatal crash in Pahrump“, Juan Carlos Flores, Sept. 25, 2016