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Santa Maria, Major Car Accident, 0.08% BAC, Wet Reckless
Our client, age 30, lived in Buellton, about 60 miles north of Santa Barbara. He was invited to join a few friends for a drink or two in Santa Barbara and went down south to meet them.
Our client enjoyed a few beers and then headed home on the northbound 101 in his Ford Raptor pick up truck. After turning inland at Gaviota, he encountered the curvy, hilly terrain leading to Buellton.
About 2.5 miles south of Santa Rosa Road, he fell asleep and departed 101, losing control as his truck went down a steep hill into a gully. The client collided with a tree, causing his truck to flip over several times. It was about 1:30 a.m.
A nearby resident heard the noise of a car crash and went outside his house to see if he could spot anything. He saw the illuminated headlights of our client’s truck in an area the resident knew was below the 101 and called 911.
The CHP arrived and helped our client, who stood six foot, seven inches tall, out of the truck. Our client had fractured his skull in two places and was bleeding from his head. He was taken to the local Buellton hospital, where his blood sample was taken.
The blood was later measured to have a 0.080% and 0.082% blood alcohol content, although the blood was not drawn within three hours of the time our client last drove.
The client then spent several days in the hospital before being discharged, after signing a promise to appear in the Santa Maria courthouse about two months later.
At that time, the client did not know what his BAC was or even which courthouse his case was assigned to. The client explained that this was his first DUI and was aware that he might lose his license, which was a big deal for him because he worked as a commercial diver.
Greg explained how the DMV hearing worked and how a conviction for DUI would also result in a driver’s license suspension. The client then retained our office.
Greg later represented the client at his DMV Hearing, which resulted in a set aside of the license suspension (a win for the client).
In court, Greg appeared four times in the Santa Maria courthouse before resolving the case for a wet reckless (an amended charge of violating Vehicle Code § 23103 pursuant to Vehicle Code § 23103.5). At first, the handling prosecutor would not offer a wet reckless, which surprised Greg because the client’s blood alcohol content was 0.080%, with a 0.003% margin of error, meaning there was a fifty percent chance the actual BAC was less than 0.08%.
Finally, however, the prosecutor changed her mind, agreeing to a “wet reckless” on the following terms: one year of informal (or summary) probation, payment of a court fine of $150 plus penalties and assessments (total of $889); enrollment in and completion of a twelve-hour wet reckless program; performance of 30 days of SWAP (sheriff’s work alternative program); no consumption of alcohol, entry to bars or liquor stores, and payment of restitution of any.
The SWAP program, wherein the client may be assigned community service or be subject to house arrest on electronic monitoring, is subject to Penal Code § 4019 because it is a court-ordered restriction on liberty, so the maximum length is 15 actual days.
The client was very happy with this resolution because his driving privileges and thus, his ability to work as a diver, was not affected.
