9/21/2005 - Posted by:
Stone, Taylor & Associates, P.A.
Phone: 904-396-3335
Alt. Phone: 904-399-3596
Fax: 904-399-4540
Mobile: 904-536-9309
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Hand Sanitizer DUI Case
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The client was at a Jaguar football game on a Sunday night. He left and was routed over a bridge that lead to an area he was unfamiliar with. Due to a confusing intersection he ran a red light. The arresting officer stopped him and asked him about whether he had consumed any alcohol. While the arresting officer was not looking the client reached for mouth wash but mistakenly grabbed hand sanitizer and without looking at it popped the cap and drank it. Another officer who was standing on the other side of the car saw him do it, and after the arrest the hand sanitizer was taken into evidence. The client performed sobriety exercises at the scene and blew .199 and .181 at the police station. At trial we were prepared to present evidence of the confusing intersection by having our investigator demonstrate how the lights at the intersection cycle using photgraphs and video. We also had an expert toxicologist prepared to discuss how the gel like substance of the hand sanitizer could cause alcohol molecules to become trapped in the mouth thereby artificially causing the breath test to be high. The same expert was set to testify about that our client's true BAC would have been .04 to .07 using a scientific formula. The end result was the State reduced the charge to Reckless Driving after the trial began and the client was not convicted of DUI.
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