Woman Crashes and Rolls Her Car in Suspected DUI Crash

Ashley Michelle Stansell, age 39, was involved in a crash after hitting a fire hydrant and a stop sign, causing her car to flip. The accident occurred on Thursday, January 17, 2019, in Marietta, Georgia on Powder Springs Street at the intersection with Griggs Street at around 12 PM that day. Stansell was driving her 2006 Honda Accord at the time of the accident.

The car ended up on its roof, landing in front of the newly moved Gone With the Wind Museum. The fire hydrant was damaged but did not leak or release water. Stansell admitted to drinking alcohol and getting behind the wheel, according to Chuck McPhilamy, the police spokesman.

She blew a .097 on the breathalyzer according to the crash report. The legal limit in Georgia is 0.08% blood alcohol content (BAC). She was later booked into the Smyrna city jail for a suspected DUI.

If you or someone you care for has been arrested for a suspected DUI, you can challenge the results of your breath test to potentially reduce or dismiss the charges against you. An experienced Georgia DUI attorney can help defend your case to protect your constitutional rights.

Failing the Breath Test - Do Not Assume You Are Guilty

Just because you failed the breath test does not necessarily mean that you must face criminal charges. The breath testing machine that officers use, especially during the roadside breath test, is open to several different types of attack.

Failure to Calibrate Machines

The machines that test BAC must be calibrated regularly to ensure that they are accurate (or as close to accurate as they can ever get). However, these calibrations do not occur regularly, or correctly in many cases. When a result is close to the 0.08% BAC reading, a small miscalibration can make or break your case.

Police Error

Police can make mistakes when using the roadside breath test or the breath test back at the station. When police error occurs, you may get a false reading of intoxication when you were perfectly capable of driving safely and legally. An experienced attorney can analyze the circumstances of your case to look for police errors and bring them to the court's attention if they exist.

Margin of Error

Even a "properly" calibrated breath testing machine has an inherent margin of error for measuring a person's BAC. This discrepancy can be as much as 0.02%, at times. This can make a huge difference in your case. If your BAC was actually 0.07%--under the legal limit--but it reads at 0.08% or even 0.09%, you could be charged with per se DUI even when you were not over the legal limit. You deserve to have your rights protected against simple machine error.

Consult a Georgia DUI Attorney

You do not have to face the DUI process alone. Facing criminal charges can feel daunting or even frightening. With proper legal representation, you can make sure your rights are protected. An experienced Georgia DUI attorney can protect your rights. Contact us today for a free consultation.