Single-Vehicle Crash on 110 Freeway, DUI, Metro Courthouse

Our client, age 29, was heading northbound on the I-110 at about 2:20 a.m.  He was coming home from a party and went the wrong way on the 110.  He needed to go south to his home near the intersection of the 110 and the 105 Freeway in South Central Los Angeles.  It was Labor Day weekend in September 2022.

As he headed northbound on the 110 in the far left lane, he fell asleep just past Stadium Way, but before reaching the series of tunnels.

 

His 2013 Chevy Malibu drifted to the left and banged into the guardrail before he woke up and turned the steering wheel to the right and veered across all lanes of the 110 to stop on the right shoulder.  Luckily, no other cars were involved and our client was not injured.

The client stayed on the right side of the 110 for a few minutes, trying to gather himself and determine if he could drive home, as his car was certainly damaged.  Little did he know it then, but his left front tire had fallen off in the collision.

Just then, a CHP officer pulled over to the right shoulder behind him and walked to the driver’s side door to speak to our client about the crash, as there was debris in the road from our client’s car.

According to the DUI investigation report by the CHP, the officer noticed the odor of alcohol immediately upon contacting our client. 

 

The officer asked our client if he had consumed any alcohol that evening and our client was honest, saying he had consumed two or three beers earlier in the evening.

Despite our client having just been in a rather serious car accident that would certainly affect one’s equilibrium even if sober, the officer had our client perform a series of field sobriety tests involving balance.  According to the police report, our client failed each of these tests.

The officer then asked our client if he would submit to a preliminary alcohol screening (PAS) test and our client politely refused, as he was told the test was optional.  He was then arrested and taken to the 77th Precinct Station off the 110 Freeway near our client’s home.

At the 77th Precinct, our client submitted to a breath test on a Datamaster DMT device, which measured the ethanol content in our client’s breath as a proxy for the amount of ethanol in his blood.  The machine measured 0.136% and 0.131% blood alcohol content, or BAC.

The client was then held for several more hours before being released to his parents and, when leaving the station, he signed a promise to appear in the Metropolitan Courthouse in about three months.

Once home, our client discussed his case with a few of his friends, one of whom had been represented by Greg Hill & Associates in the past.  He recommended that the client call Greg Hill & Associates.

The client did so and spoke with Greg.  He described what had happened and asked how his case would likely be resolved.  Greg explained how such cases are commonly handled at the Metropolitan Courthouse and how CHP reports involving car accidents are often sorely lacking in reporting the time the client last drove, which can be good for the client, especially if a crash is on a lightly traveled road.

The client then retained Greg Hill & Associates and Greg went to the Metropolitan Courthouse for the client a few months later for the arraignment.

The Los Angeles City Attorney assigned to the case, an experienced attorney who has been at the Metropolitan Courthouse for many years, recognized Greg and discussed the client’s case with Greg.

The prosecutor’s plea bargain offer involved our client pleading to DUI and no jail.  He would be placed on thirty-six months of summary (or informal) probation, with an obligation to enroll in and complete the three-month alcohol awareness program (called the AB 541 program), pay a court fine of $390, plus penalties and assessments (less credit of $125 towards the $390 fine for one day in custody) or perform 17 hours of community service and pay a fine of $404, attend ten Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings and pay restitution, if any to Cal-Trans, for the damage to the center divider.

The client accepted the offer, as the terms really could not be any lower by statute, except for the ten AA meetings, which were free and could be completed online through Zoom.  He was happy Greg had explained the process and understood when the plea bargain was one to accept or not and why.