DRINK DRIVING – Relief When Not Charged
Forrest Williams recently assisted a male motorist who had been involved in a collision and subsequently bailed to return to York Police Station towards the end of 2013.
Following the collision, the police attended the scene and breathalysed our client who was subsequently offered the statutory option to give either a blood or urine sample. Our client opted to give a blood sample.
Our client asked if Steve Williams, senior partner of Forrest Williams, would attend York Police Station with him. Steve was happy to do this and met with our client at the station, where they had a short discussion about the case before going into an interview room with two police officers.
Steve reminded our client during the interview to mention to the police officers that, following the collision, some of the contents of a bottle of vodka had been consumed in the car while waiting for the emergency services to attend the scene. This was noted by the officers as it constitutes what is referred to as ‘post driving consumption’, and it would have had a bearing on whether or not our client was over the legal limit when actually driving the car.
Several stressful months of waiting followed, during which our client became very worried about the possibility of being charged with a drink driving offence. During this time the team at Forrest Williams offered regular support and reassurance, in the form of phone calls and emails.
During this waiting period, our client’s own blood sample results came back as 225ml, which placed him in the third category. If found guilty of a drink driving offence with a reading this high, and given the fact that he had a previous drink driving offence within the last 10 years, the Magistrates’ Sentencing Guidelines suggest penalties of a low level to high level community order and a disqualification period of 36-52 months.
Our client was understandably anxious about this and contacted the Forrest Williams team often for support.
Then one day, almost 5 months after the collision, our client received a call from an officer at York Police Station saying that no charges would be brought against him. After all the waiting and worrying, it took a little time for this news to fully register. Our client called to thank Steve Williams for his support and representation within the police station and also to thank all the Forrest Williams office staff for their ongoing contact through what had been a very difficult period of his life.
EXCEPTIONAL HARDSHIP FOUND – Case Fully Prepared In Just 4 Working Days!