Huntsville DUI Law Blog

Even though state sentencing guidelines recommended that a driver involved in a fatal pedestrian collision should not go to jail, a judge decided that incarceration was necessary. A Mobile, Alabama, man, age 75, struck and killed a pedestrian two years ago. The man was convicted of manslaughter after facing drunk driving charges and other accusations in the case.

Authorities report that the man struck the pedestrian after he got behind the wheel while intoxicated. The driver had reportedly consumed alcohol while taking a certain medication, a dangerous combination. The 40-year-old victim was walking alongside the road near the Harlem Duke Social Club in the Bullshead community in July 2011 when she was struck and killed.

As an ever-increasing number of intoxicants continue to make inroads into communities throughout Alabama, authorities are cautioning parents about the dangers of new designer drugs in combination with underage drinking. A recent incident illustrates the dangers of consuming these substances: A freshman student at the University of South Alabama was shot and killed by police on Oct. 6 after he violently spiraled out of control. The young man had been at college for just six weeks when the incident occurred.

The young man took a hit of the newly popular drug 25-I, a substance that costs just about $10 for a hit. This research drug was imported from New Zealand by a Birmingham distributor who then brought the substance to Mobile. This new intoxicant has not yet made it onto the state’s list of controlled substances, according to local authorities.

A woman from one of Alabama's neighboring states, Florida, is attempting to avoid conviction on drunk driving charges by claiming that she was not driving the vehicle at the time of her arrest. The woman, age 26, said her mother-in--law drove the car into the parking lot of a Kangaroo gas station in late March. The woman is facing DUI charges, along with possession of a controlled prescription and tampering with evidence.

Interviews indicate that the oxycodone found in the woman's vehicle belonged to her husband. The woman said she had consumed several alcoholic beverages at home before leaving the house, but her friend drove both of them to pick up the woman's mother-in-law. The pair also transported three children ranging in age from 6 months to 9 years old. After the friend returned home, the woman's mother-in-law drove to the gas station.

In a follow-up to a recently reported DUI case, an Alabama court has revoked a plea bargain arrangement for a Detroit Lions player facing drunk driving charges. The man, defensive tackle Nick Fairley, pled guilty six months ago to a deal that was supposed to allow him to leave the charges in his past. As a result, Fairley has redacted his guilty plea that was entered six months ago.

Now, a circuit judge has ruled that prosecutors may not have agreed to allow the man to participate in a pretrial diversion program. The program would have allowed the dismissal of the DUI charges as long as the man participated in rehabilitation activities. Defense attorneys said they finalized the plea deal with prosecutors in September, but government lawyers reported that they had never consented to the agreement.