A Louisiana district judge determined that a man should serve seven years in prison for a fatal crash that took place in September 2012. Authorities say that the woman who became the victim in the accident was driving a 2013 Lincoln on La. 73 when the man tried to pass her in a no-passing zone. His vehicle crashed head-on into a cement truck, and that truck then hit the woman’s vehicle, according to law enforcement.
The man’s blood alcohol content was found only to be 0.09 three hours following the crash. In Louisiana, 0.08 is the limit for being found to be drunk driving.
The man disagrees with the verdict, however, because as a Type 1 diabetic, he says he may have given a false positive for alcohol intoxication. He plans to appeal the sentence and the verdict, according to his attorney.
The sentence given to the man mandates that attend one Alcoholics Anonymous meeting each week for a year and pay a $2,000 fine. He will also face probation fees. He faces a count of vehicular negligent injuring for the cement truck driver’s injuries, and a first-offenses driving while intoxicated count in East Baton Rouge Parish. His current sentence of seven years has had two years suspended and requires at least three years of hard labor without the benefit of parole.
Drunk driving penalties in Louisiana can be severe, and BAC results can be open to dispute in some cases. That’s why it is important that anyone charged with a DUI not try to maneuver the legal system alone.
Source: The Advocate, “Gonzales man gets seven-year sentence in vehicular homicide” David J. Mitchell, Jun. 12, 2014
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