A 35-year-old man was accused of driving drunk after he was involved in an accident in central North Dakota on Dec. 7. The two-vehicle crash involved the accused man’s 1999 Ford pickup truck and a tractor-trailer. As a result of the collision, the man’s truck was sliced in half, and both vehicles were disabled.
The alleged DUI incident happened while the accused driver was traveling east along Highway 52 in Wells County. At around 8:43 a.m., the man lost control of his truck due to icy conditions. After drifting into the opposite lane of traffic, the man collided with a westbound tractor-trailer. The pickup truck landed in the south ditch, and the tractor-trailer ended up in the north ditch.
The driver of the pickup truck and the 70-year-old driver of the semi were both transported to St. Aloisius Medical Center by ambulance. The tractor-trailer driver was later moved to Trinity Hospital in Minot via helicopter. He has since been released from Trinity Hospital, and the pickup truck driver has been listed in stable condition. Both of the men were wearing seat belts when the accident occurred. It is unclear what methods were used to test the pickup truck driver for intoxication.
A charge for DUI does not necessarily guarantee that a person will be convicted. A criminal defense attorney might be able to help a defendant to dispute a drunk driving charge on the grounds that the prosecution has little scientific evidence. If an accident occurred during hazardous weather conditions, an attorney might argue that the defendant’s driving mistake was a result of the weather and not a result of intoxication.
Source: TwinCities.com, Minnesotan arrested for DUI after truck cuts his pickup in half, December 08, 2014
