Woman Receives Multiple Charges

A 40-year-old Gainesville woman was taken into custody by the Florida Highway Patrol on Feb. 7 for multiple offenses. They included suspicion of drunk driving, leaving a scene of a vehicle accident and filing a false report.

After she was unable to pass a field sobriety test, the woman was arrested in the parking lot of UF Health Shands Hospital. Because the vehicle crash occurred in Marion County, she was taken to the Marion County Jail in Ocala. While at the jail, the results of breath alcohol tests taken more than four and a half hours after the crash occurred showed that her blood alcohol levels measured at .108 and .111, well above the legal limit of .08.

According to the police report, a call was received at 10:26 p.m. on Feb. 6 regarding a crash. At 11:03 p.m., the responding officer was dispatched to the site on I-75 northbound between U.S. 27 and County Road 326, near Mile Marker 356. He was advised that a woman had been taken to the hospital. The officer observed a vehicle in the northbound median and one on the northbound shoulder. He concluded that one of the vehicles had collided into the back of the other. During the course of questioning, the woman lied about not being the driver of the vehicle. After she was released from the hospital, she agreed to undergo a field sobriety exercise, which she failed.

A drunk driving conviction may result in steep penalties. A criminal lawyer may assist people charged with DUI by providing counsel during police questioning to ensure that their rights are protected.