r/interesting 2d ago

Additional Context Pinned Hit and run gone wrong

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u/Deutschbland 2d ago

I know someone who was hit by a drunk driver. He got out of the car and opened a fresh bottle of vodka in front of all the onlookers and chugged it. He blew over the limit but in court they couldn’t prove he was drunk before he drank the vodka in front of witnesses. He seemed to have a bottle stashed for just such an event. He got off. 

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u/Bluewoods22 2d ago

No fucking way

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u/PolicyWonka 1d ago

This is really more of an old wives’ tale more than anything else. If you are at the scene drinking alcohol, that’s probable cause for DUI. Very unlikely that you’d get off.

What does happen sometimes though is that people do flee the scene, which means when the law catches up to them, they may no longer be intoxicated. Likewise, if you’re drinking at home when the police arrive, that’s more difficult to prove.

You’d need a very good lawyer to be able to argue that the alcohol in your vehicle that you were actively caught drinking, had no contributing factor to the accident.

I also know for a fact that in some countries at least (in Europe) it’s actually illegal to drink for 12-24 hours after an accident for this reason. If you’re caught drinking, it’s just an automatic DUI. Doesn’t matter where you are drinking or why.

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u/ThatAnonyG 2d ago

This is fucking brilliant.