A woman who was involved in a fatal motor vehicle accident has received a verdict of not guilty. The woman was originally charged with DUI after being involved in a fatal accident. However, a court in Regina recently ruled that she was merely sleepy, she had not been drunk and her falling asleep was nothing more than an unplanned accident.
The court also decided that the 34-year-old woman did not know she was in danger of falling asleep. As a result, the court determined that it was understandable the woman had not taken precautions to avoid falling asleep at the wheel. Since the prosecution’s case did not successfully show that the woman had committed dangerous driving beyond a reasonable doubt, the court found the woman not guilty.
The woman had been on her way to Regina when the accident occurred at approximately 5:35 a.m., in April 2012. Her vehicle went off the road, rolled and came to rest in a ditch. A 22-year-old passenger in her car was killed in the crash. The driver, along with another passenger, was fortunate to survive.
Although she was charged with drunk driving, in the beginning, evidence showed that she was not in fact over the limit while operating the car.
It is not unusual for a Phoenix driver to be accused of DUI after a serious car accident occurs. However, by employing a successful legal defense such defendants can often illuminate their version of the facts to show how the prosecution’s allegations simply are not true. Indeed, just because an individual has been accused of a crime does not mean that he or she actually did it, which is why everyone will have the freedom to fully defend himself or herself against criminal charges in an Arizona court.
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