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Dombrovski v. State8/2/2000
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND JUDGMENT
No. 4253
Appeal from the District Court, Fourth Judicial District, Fairbanks, Jane F. Kauvar, Judge.
A jury convicted Ginger Dombrovski of driving while intoxicated (DWI). Dombrovski appeals, contending that District Court Judge Jane F. Kauvar erred when she denied Dombrovski's motion to suppress blood test results, and all other evidence (including field sobriety tests) obtained after the police contacted her at the hospital. Dombrovski further contends that Judge Kauvar erred in denying her motion to dismiss based on the State's delay in charging her with DWI.
We affirm.
Facts and Proceedings
On May 9, 1997, Trooper Gary Webb was dispatched to the scene of a single car accident in Fairbanks. When Webb arrived at the accident scene, he found a vehicle resting on its side in a ditch. Emergency personnel were already at the scene and advised Webb that the driver of the vehicle, Dombrovski, was in the ambulance. They also told Webb that they had noticed the odor of alcoholic beverages on Dombrovski. When Webb later looked inside Dombrovski's vehicle, he did not find any alcohol containers or spillage, but he did detect the odor of alcohol.
Webb went to the ambulance and spoke briefly with Dombrovski. Rather than interview Dombrovski in the ambulance, Webb decided to wait until after she had been transported to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital (FMH). Webb collected some of Dombrovski's personal effects, including her purse that she left behind in the wreck, and followed her to the FMH emergency room.
Webb was initially unable to access the FMH emergency room because the hospital had changed the code number utilized by the police to gain access to the emergency room. Webb obtained the new code from a FMH employee and entered the emergency room area. A staff member told Webb that Dombrovski was in Room 114. Webb proceeded to Room 114, which he described as a temporary holding room for emergency treatment. Webb noted that if a patient is actually admitted to the hospital, they are moved to a different location in the hospital and given a private room.
The door to the room was open and Dombrovski was sitting on a "gurney type bed." Webb entered the room and told Dombrovski who he was and explained why he was there. Webb smelled the odor of alcoholic beverages on Dombrovski and observed that she had problems with her balance and mobility. Dombrovski told Webb that she had a couple of drinks at a bar and then ate at a restaurant (whose name she could not remember) before the accident. Dombrovski claimed that she lost control of her vehicle after seeing something (either a blue car or a moose) come towards her.
Webb suspected Dombrovski was intoxicated and asked her to perform some field sobriety tests. She performed the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test and failed. Dombrovski indicated that she had injuries to her shoulder, so Webb deferred any additional field sobriety tests. Webb told Dombrovski that the HGN test indicated that she was still under the influence of alcohol. Webb asked Dombrovski if she would come down to the trooper station for a breath test after she was finished with her medical treatment. Dombrovski agreed. Webb then went outside to retrieve Dombrovski's purse from his patrol car.
Webb learned from the hospital staff that they were waiting on Dombrovski's urinalysis results to release her. Webb realized that it was going to be a while before Dombrovski was released, so he asked Dombrovski if she thought she could perform balance tests. Dombrovski indicated that she could perform any of the tests because she was not drunk. D
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