Posted on 01/05/2016 11:09:21 AM PST by DogByte6RER
Woman Proves Her Body Brews Alcohol To Beat DUI Charges
Drink driving charges against a woman in New York have been dismissed after it was revealed she suffers from auto-brewery syndrome - a rare digestive condition that turns food into alcohol.
The 35-year-old teacher was pulled over in New York last October after police received reports her Toyota Carolla was "weaving all over" the road. When pulled over and tested, she recorded a blood-alcohol level of more than four times the legal limit at 0.33%.
Police alleged that she failed several field sobriety tests, including standing on one foot and talking and turning heel-to-toe - but the woman, who has not been named, insisted she had consumed no more than three drinks in the six hours before she was pulled over.
Her lawyer, Joseph Marusak arranged to have medical professionals monitor his client for a day to ensure she did not consume alcohol and to take several blood samples for testing.
She also bought a breath test kit and blew into it every night for 18 days, registering around 0.20% every time.
After several assessments, the woman was diagnosed with auto-brewery syndrome, and was prescribed a low-carbohydrate diet that brought her symptoms under control.
Marusak told Buffalo News: "She can register a blood alcohol content that would have you or I falling down drunk, but she can function."
Her case was dismissed, leaving her free to drive without restrictions, however prosecutors are seeking to have the charges against the woman reinstated.
I don't get it, but I was spoiled, living in Germany for 4 1/2 years. Plenty of Texas brews made the Old Country way.
I’ve been told by LEO friends that if the keys are out of the ignition and on the floor, you can’t be charged with DUI. Now, public intoxication is another story. But if you’re sleeping it off, they really have nothing.
Spent a couple of weeks this summer in Germany and Austria. Came back to Texas thinking I had been lied to all my life.
When I was stationed there, I learned the country had roughly 6000 breweries. I was in a great location, i.e. the Mosel River valley, home to some of the greatest Riesling in the world. Yes, I got spoiled.
Texas has a number of excellent breweries. Down South, you've got Shiner, in Fort Worth there's Rahr.
Lied to as in I had been told this American mass-brewed crap was real “Beer”.
Bavaria has real beer. The Texas craft-brewed are ok, but still not like being in Bavaria or Tyrol drinking right off the draught.
The phrasing here is “Care and Control” of the vehicle. Keys in the car or your pocket, you’re done. It doesn’t matter whether you’re on the street or in a parking lot, either.
Putting the keys on top of a tire or in the trunk *might* work. Maybe.
Nope. If they are in the ignition, you’re toast. Otherwise, you’re not getting a DUI.
Oh, it’s right up there with affluenza!
I don’t care why the alcohol was in her bloodstream, only that it was - and in sufficient quantity to make her legally impaired. Somehow, I just don’t think that I would feel any better if she careened into a family member or friend and killed or maimed them, knowing that she “wasn’t drinking.” Being impaired, in any way, is all that is important.
Frankly, she HAD to have known of this condition beforehand, even if she couldn’t put a name to it. Yet she got into a car and drove ANYWAY. To Hell with her, she knew the risk and drove anyway - toss her in jail.
She should not EVER be on the road if she has a blood alcohol level of the limit wherever she is, or higher. If she stays on her low-carb diet and keeps her internal booze factory largely shut down, then she can drive.
Something tells me that varies from state to state. Something also tells me that being drunk outside your car (keys in pocket) and all alone, can get you a DUI in some states. But I have not searched.
[[The article says that with a restricted diet, she does not produce alcohol therefore they could not suspend her license. ]]
Ah ok I missed that part- thanks- makes sense
I admit to being distracted while driving some 30 years ago trying to tune in an important playoff game on an old analog radio. Cop pulls me over tells me I had been swerving. I admitted it and I explained about the game thing. He made me walk a line. I did it splendidly. Today I probably could not walk the line well at all.
I currently have an almost new pickup. It has more bells and whistles than I care to think. Just adjusting the heat/AC can be a distraction. There is a blue ray device that allows me to make hands free call. But so many of the other devices are distracting. They over engineer these things and make them dangerous
All I meant was, I understand your comment. Perhaps I might have trouble with a sobriety test also. I don’t know.
But if we haven’t drunk anything, the 0.00 alcohol level will show up and we will be able to communicate soberly.
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