Marion County Driver Involved in Single Vehicle Crash
A Florida Highway Patrol Trooper was dispatched to a possible hit and run and responded to the area of SW 136th Court Road and County Road 484. The Trooper spoke with Marion County Sheriff’s Deputies who responded to the area as well in reference to an abandoned vehicle. During the crash investigation, the Trooper also spoke with the suspected driver and notice a strong odor of alcohol, slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and that she was unsteady on her feet. The Trooper then switched from a civil traffic crash investigation to a criminal investigation for Driving Under the Influence. The Trooper read the suspected driver of the vehicle her Miranda warnings and she admitted she had driven the vehicle, but only had driven the vehicle into a ditch. The Trooper requested that the driver perform field sobriety exercise, which the driver refused to perform. The suspected driver was placed under arrest for Driving Under the Influence and was transported to the Marion County Jail. Once at the jail the Trooper requested that she provide a breath sample, which the driver refused.
The driver hired Meldon law. The attorneys at Meldon provided the prosecution with case law regarding the issue of corpus delicti and the potential suppression of the admission to driving the vehicle. Ultimately the charge being reduced to reckless driving and the driver received a withhold of adjudication.
DISCLAIMER: The results are specific to the facts and legal circumstances of each of the clients’ cases and should not be used to form an expectation that the same results could be obtained for other clients in similar matters without reference to the specific factual and legal circumstances of each client’s case. (Date of Arrest: October 6, 2018).
