In these warm summer months in Oregon, people often make the mistake of getting behind the wheel of a motor vehicle after having too much to drink. While people may think that a DUI arrest is embarrassing and therefore needs to be quickly dealt with, people should also understand the serious consequences that come with a DUI beyond embarrassment. Those accused of DUI can face heavy fines, jail time and lose their drivers' licenses. These consequences will increase if people continue to get arrested for DUI or if they cause an accident or otherwise injure another person while driving drunk.
In a recent Oregon case, a 39-year-old man has been charged with very serious crimes after causing an accident while supposedly driving drunk. According to court records, this man has been charged with drunk driving in addition to fourth-degree assault, second-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and second-degree manslaughter.
Police say that this man was driving his car on U.S. 30 near Scappoose when he crossed the center line and hit another car head-on. As a result of the accident, the driver of the other car was killed on the scene. It is unclear why the police think the man was driving drunk at the time of the accident.
While each of these charges will need to be attacked head-on, by challenging the drunk driving charges, this man may be able to reduce some of the other charges as well. If police and prosecutors cannot prove that he was driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol he may be able to show that the car accident was just an unfortunate accident and not the source of criminal behavior.
There are several ways to challenge drunk driving charges in Oregon, including challenging police accounts, challenging the results of blood or breath tests and others.
Source: The Oregonian, "Driver in fatal U.S. 30 crash faces manslaughter, drunken-driving charges," Simina Mistreanu, June 20, 2013