Our job is to defend people who are accused of driving while intoxicated in court. DUI charges often come with additional charges, such as the ones that come with an injury wreck. When the crash involves an underage driver, however, the case becomes much more complicated.
Here’s an example of one from Patch.com. An underage driver is accused of being DUI after she crashed her vehicle into a lagoon in Carlsbad. A witness saw the car swerve off the road and plunge into the waters 30 ft. below around 2 in the morning.
Officers have determined that there was no one else in the vehicle at the time. The driver did manage to escape and ran off. Police later found her and arrested her.
The arrestee is 20 years old, so she is not legal to drink alcohol. If any alcohol is found in her system from a blood or breath test, that will likely be enough evidence for her to get convicted unless there are some very strange circumstances. Unlike adults, there’s no legal line to judge. Worse, since she is over 18 she’ll be tried as an adult.
If you or a loved one have been accused of underage drinking and driving, the possibility of avoiding punishment is small. Yet a skilled DUI lawyer can help reduce the sentence and allow someone who made a mistake to fix their ways. Contact us immediately if you have been charged with DUI and live in Los Angeles County.
