Released pending further investigation 4 months ago

Convicted Driver Insurance
Hey everyone, my husband crashed into a parked car at approx 11:30 pm, early July 2021. He’s been suffering from severe depression and ptsd since 2019 and has attempted to take his own life. A resident heard the crash and went to investigate, he found my husband slumped over the steering wheel sobbing. The gentleman called me on hb phone and gave me directions & also called the police.
I arrived at the scene shortly before the police and tried to calm him.
he was given a roadside breath test which he failed. He was then taken to hospital for a Ct scan they arrived back to the station around 2am. They took him to a cell until around 5am and then to a room to have another breath test but the machine malfunctioned .
they then said they would need to take a blood test. HB. is needle phobic and had a panic attack. They waited for a volunteer to sit with him and calm him then the dr took a blood test At approx 7am.
at 12 midday they finally released him pending further investigation and said there was a backlog of blood tests as there had been an illegal rave so they couldn’t say when the results would be back. that was around 11 weeks ago & We’ve not heard anything since.
Is there a limit of time by which he has to be charged by? All this waiting, not knowing is really not helping his state of mind. I’m assuming with the time passed from breath test to blood test the amount of alcohol would be a lot less, can they charge him on the roadside alone? He answered ‘no comment’ when interviewed Any advice would be appreciated thank you
 
Your husband will be judged on the result of the blood sample at 7am. It is, in theory, possible for the police to perform a back calculation to see what his reading was at the time of the accident but from the circumstances that you describe I think that this is extremely unlikely.
What was his reading at the roadside? From that it might be possible to estimate if he was still over the limit at 7am.
Hobgoblin is right, there is a limit of 6 months in which to commence proceedings, with 3-4 weeks on top of that, possibly, to serve the paperwork.
 
Bridget

If your husband has provided a 'no comment' interview then the police will need to conduct an investigation and build a file of evidence in preparation for a charging decision.

I would think the police will need to obtain a statement from the informant who made the 999 call. Do you know the resident who found your husband and contacted you? I would personally refrain from communicating with this person again, as any contact you make will go down badly if the police find out you have potentially 'badgered' a witness.

The circumstances you have given seem to imply no one has witnessed your husband's collision, so I would anticipate this is very much a 'circumstantial' case for the police, but never the less it is a strong case for them to put before the court.

The blood sample will be analysed and your husband's alcohol content will be verified. The police send blood samples to a Home Office laboratory and the process can take a few weeks. I would anticipate your husband's case will not go to court until well into 2022.

Both of you are clearly going through some personal issues at present. In my opinion, it is probably for the best your husband will not be able to drive for the foreseeable future. He is clearly very unwell and he needs plenty of help and support before he can consider driving again.

I would look at the positives here - he has crashed the car, but no one else has been injured or inconvenience, and the damage doesn't appear too severe. Your husband will not get a custodial sentence - I am confident about that (unless this is his third DUI offence in ten years!!!!)

Just be grateful this incident could have been alot worse with dire consequences (someone has been killed!). Your husband has still got the opportunity to turn his life around and get better with some good support and help.

In terms of the court appearance - I would strongly urge your husband to just go guilty and get it over with. If he goes down the route of a 'not guilty' plea and a trial, this could have a catasphopic impact on his already fragile mental health.

If he goes 'guilty' on the first court appearance he will get looked on favourably by the Magistrates bench and be in & out of court before lunchtime. It really is not such a painful experience if you go in the Court with the right attitude. I have been in that dock myself not too long ago.

Once your husband starts his ban he can really move forward from all of this. It probably does feel like you are both living through hell at present, but things will improve in time.

CJ
 
Hey everyone, my husband crashed into a parked car at approx 11:30 pm, early July 2021. He’s been suffering from severe depression and ptsd since 2019 and has attempted to take his own life. A resident heard the crash and went to investigate, he found my husband slumped over the steering wheel sobbing. The gentleman called me on hb phone and gave me directions & also called the police.
I arrived at the scene shortly before the police and tried to calm him.
he was given a roadside breath test which he failed. He was then taken to hospital for a Ct scan they arrived back to the station around 2am. They took him to a cell until around 5am and then to a room to have another breath test but the machine malfunctioned .
they then said they would need to take a blood test. HB. is needle phobic and had a panic attack. They waited for a volunteer to sit with him and calm him then the dr took a blood test At approx 7am.
at 12 midday they finally released him pending further investigation and said there was a backlog of blood tests as there had been an illegal rave so they couldn’t say when the results would be back. that was around 11 weeks ago & We’ve not heard anything since.
Is there a limit of time by which he has to be charged by? All this waiting, not knowing is really not helping his state of mind. I’m assuming with the time passed from breath test to blood test the amount of alcohol would be a lot less, can they charge him on the roadside alone? He answered ‘no comment’ when interviewed Any advice would be appreciated thank you
Just to let you know that this will take some time..I was taken a blood sample on 30.06.2021 and my Court Date arrived yeaterday 27.10.2021 ..it will take time
 
Your husband will be judged on the result of the blood sample at 7am. It is, in theory, possible for the police to perform a back calculation to see what his reading was at the time of the accident but from the circumstances that you describe I think that this is extremely unlikely.
What was his reading at the roadside? From that it might be possible to estimate if he was still over the limit at 7am.
Hobgoblin is right, there is a limit of 6 months in which to commence proceedings, with 3-4 weeks on top of that, possibly, to serve the paperwork.
Thank you 👍 It was 92 roadside, he was given food & drink at 5am and had lots of pee’s unsure if that makes a difference.
 
Hey everyone, my husband crashed into a parked car at approx 11:30 pm, early July 2021. He’s been suffering from severe depression and ptsd since 2019 and has attempted to take his own life. A resident heard the crash and went to investigate, he found my husband slumped over the steering wheel sobbing. The gentleman called me on hb phone and gave me directions & also called the police.
I arrived at the scene shortly before the police and tried to calm him.
he was given a roadside breath test which he failed. He was then taken to hospital for a Ct scan they arrived back to the station around 2am. They took him to a cell until around 5am and then to a room to have another breath test but the machine malfunctioned .
they then said they would need to take a blood test. HB. is needle phobic and had a panic attack. They waited for a volunteer to sit with him and calm him then the dr took a blood test At approx 7am.
at 12 midday they finally released him pending further investigation and said there was a backlog of blood tests as there had been an illegal rave so they couldn’t say when the results would be back. that was around 11 weeks ago & We’ve not heard anything since.
Is there a limit of time by which he has to be charged by? All this waiting, not knowing is really not helping his state of mind. I’m assuming with the time passed from breath test to blood test the amount of alcohol would be a lot less, can they charge him on the roadside alone? He answered ‘no comment’ when interviewed Any advice would be appreciated thank you
Hi,

A roadside test wouldn't be admissible in court (but can be mentioned). Did he get tested at the station afterwards?

Bloods will be the evidence that the prosecutor will use...hopefully he will be below the HRO mark.

Kind Regards,




Stu
 
Bridget

If your husband has provided a 'no comment' interview then the police will need to conduct an investigation and build a file of evidence in preparation for a charging decision.

I would think the police will need to obtain a statement from the informant who made the 999 call. Do you know the resident who found your husband and contacted you? I would personally refrain from communicating with this person again, as any contact you make will go down badly if the police find out you have potentially 'badgered' a witness.

The circumstances you have given seem to imply no one has witnessed your husband's collision, so I would anticipate this is very much a 'circumstantial' case for the police, but never the less it is a strong case for them to put before the court.

The blood sample will be analysed and your husband's alcohol content will be verified. The police send blood samples to a Home Office laboratory and the process can take a few weeks. I would anticipate your husband's case will not go to court until well into 2022.

Both of you are clearly going through some personal issues at present. In my opinion, it is probably for the best your husband will not be able to drive for the foreseeable future. He is clearly very unwell and he needs plenty of help and support before he can consider driving again.

I would look at the positives here - he has crashed the car, but no one else has been injured or inconvenience, and the damage doesn't appear too severe. Your husband will not get a custodial sentence - I am confident about that (unless this is his third DUI offence in ten years!!!!)

Just be grateful this incident could have been alot worse with dire consequences (someone has been killed!). Your husband has still got the opportunity to turn his life around and get better with some good support and help.

In terms of the court appearance - I would strongly urge your husband to just go guilty and get it over with. If he goes down the route of a 'not guilty' plea and a trial, this could have a catasphopic impact on his already fragile mental health.

If he goes 'guilty' on the first court appearance he will get looked on favourably by the Magistrates bench and be in & out of court before lunchtime. It really is not such a painful experience if you go in the Court with the right attitude. I have been in that dock myself not too long ago.

Once your husband starts his ban he can really move forward from all of this. It probably does feel like you are both living through hell at present, but things will improve in time.

CJ
Ty. We haven’t seen or heard from the witness since. He’s actually a mental health nurse so was very kind at the scene. It never even crossed my mind to contact him It wasn’t even his car. Both our car and the other vehicle were totalled. HB is actually my carer so him not being able to drive isn’t really a plus for us.
he’s never done anything like this before, he had started walking home when someone approached him and was getting in his face, so he stupidly saw the car as a means of escape. No excuse just explaining the situation.
 
Hi,

A roadside test wouldn't be admissible in court (but can be mentioned). Did he get tested at the station afterwards?

Bloods will be the evidence that the prosecutor will use...hopefully he will be below the HRO mark.

Kind Regards,




Stu
Ty. As I mentioned in the original text the breathalyser at the station was faulty so they were unable to test. He’s a big fella so hoping it’s below 🤞
 
Ty. We haven’t seen or heard from the witness since. He’s actually a mental health nurse so was very kind at the scene. It never even crossed my mind to contact him It wasn’t even his car. Both our car and the other vehicle were totalled. HB is actually my carer so him not being able to drive isn’t really a plus for us.
he’s never done anything like this before, he had started walking home when someone approached him and was getting in his face, so he stupidly saw the car as a means of escape. No excuse just explaining the situation.

Bridget

Regarding your husband's altercation with the unknown male, it sadly won't make any difference to his case because drink driving is an 'absolute offence'.

It might be worth at least considering putting some explanation to the Court about what happened (when the time comes). Please don't try and use it as a defence because the Court will not wear it.

As for the caring responsibilities with yourself - I wouldn't like to pass judgement without knowing your full circumstances (they are private to you), but I will say there is some fantastic support networks out there that are catered for everyone.

I needed some professional counselling during the first few months of my ban and it did help shake off the demons and turn things around. I'm glad I did because it kind of put things in prospective with where my life was going at that time.

I will end my post and just say - it is definately not the end of the world for you and your husband. It is a 'blip' that will pass and I am sure the pair of you will be in a much better situation and frame of mind a year from now when all this misery is behind you.

CJ
 
Thank you 👍 It was 92 roadside, he was given food & drink at 5am and had lots of pee’s unsure if that makes a difference.
Can you recall at what time the roadside test was done? Due to the length of time, a lot of alcohol would have left his system by the time the blood sample was taken. If the roadside test was reasonably accurate and done close to the 11.30 pm time of the crash, it's more likely than not he was under the limit at the time of the blood sample being taken. A rough estimate calculation puts his blood alcohol between 0 and 158, his most likely level however would be 69, which is under the limit of 80 in blood. So essentially if he has a slow alcohol metabolism he will be over the limit, if he has a fast or average metabolism he will be under the limit.

That said, if the police are willing to pay for a back calculation and the conditions are right for it to be done it will definitely say he was very over the limit at the time of the crash.

Currently forces are limited to a fixed number of blood samples submitted to the labs every month. Typically each sample waits around three months before being sent to the labs. But alcohol is faster to test for than drugs, so once they are sent the wait is around a month. So I would assume the results will be back to the police soon.
 
As has been said, the result depends on a number of factors, starting with if the roadside test of 92 was accurate - it often is not.
Was the blood sample at 7am (you say approximately)
When did he stop drinking. Even if the roadside one was accurate, he may not have reached his peak reading when he was tested as he was continuing to absorb alcohol.
If it was 11.30
If it was accurate
If he had not drunk for at least an hour and had “peaked”
If the blood sample was at 7am or later……..
Given that he is a large bloke, and the lab deduct 6 from their final reading before giving the result as “not less than xx”

I think he will be under, but as you can see, there are a lot of “ifs”
 
Thank you 👍 It was 92 roadside, he was given food & drink at 5am and had lots of pee’s unsure if that makes a difference.

92 is just under the High Risk Offender threshold. Whereas roadside breath tests are not evidential, if he does get convicted, it is likely he will not have to take a medical after his ban before his licence is restored (assuming none of the other findings are relevant).
 
Bridget

Regarding your husband's altercation with the unknown male, it sadly won't make any difference to his case because drink driving is an 'absolute offence'.

It might be worth at least considering putting some explanation to the Court about what happened (when the time comes). Please don't try and use it as a defence because the Court will not wear it.

As for the caring responsibilities with yourself - I wouldn't like to pass judgement without knowing your full circumstances (they are private to you), but I will say there is some fantastic support networks out there that are catered for everyone.

I needed some professional counselling during the first few months of my ban and it did help shake off the demons and turn things around. I'm glad I did because it kind of put things in prospective with where my life was going at that time.

I will end my post and just say - it is definately not the end of the world for you and your husband. It is a 'blip' that will pass and I am sure the pair of you will be in a much better situation and frame of mind a year from now when all this misery is behind you.

CJ
Agree with CJ the demons for me post arrest were high & I needed support psychologically
It is a blip & I know as I come up to 2 yr from court (plus 5 month wait from arrest) you survive- try to use it as a life overhaul & thrive. Things will only get better
 
92 is just under the High Risk Offender threshold. Whereas roadside breath tests are not evidential, if he does get convicted, it is likely he will not have to take a medical after his ban before his licence is restored (assuming none of the other findings are relevant).
Not quite right….. The limit for becoming a HRO and needing a medical is if you blow over 87.
If the gentleman is over the limit on blood it is not going to be by much, and all DVLA will get will be the reading in blood so he will NOT have to do a medical.
It is most unlikely, as I said before, that the police would seek to get a back calculation done for a one vehicle, driver only injury collision so he stands or falls on the blood result.
 
Not quite right….. The limit for becoming a HRO and needing a medical is if you blow over 87.
If the gentleman is over the limit on blood it is not going to be by much, and all DVLA will get will be the reading in blood so he will NOT have to do a medical.
It is most unlikely, as I said before, that the police would seek to get a back calculation done for a one vehicle, driver only injury collision so he stands or falls on the blood result.

My bad.
 
Hey everyone, still no word from the police regarding this! They have 3 weeks left… does anybody know if the Police would deliberately not let us know if the reading was under? Or do they have to let us know? Or can they just wait until the limitations have run out.
probably just being paranoid but they are trying to pin a burglary on him that happened in the same road That he crashed in. He has 7 people who can verify that he was on a rally detecting, but the detectiv e said he could have asked them to cover for him? Wth?
We are putting in a complaint after all this is sorted as they were quite nasty and vindictive whilst he was in custody. (After HB told them his Step dad had passed away that weekend, they Told him His step dad was outside waiting for him!)
We we’re really hoping that all this would have been sorted out by now, we just want to enjoy Christmas and start the new year without it hanging over us.
sorry for the rant I’m just anxious 😇
 
Hey everyone, still no word from the police regarding this! They have 3 weeks left… does anybody know if the Police would deliberately not let us know if the reading was under? Or do they have to let us know? Or can they just wait until the limitations have run out.
probably just being paranoid but they are trying to pin a burglary on him that happened in the same road That he crashed in. He has 7 people who can verify that he was on a rally detecting, but the detectiv e said he could have asked them to cover for him? Wth?
We are putting in a complaint after all this is sorted as they were quite nasty and vindictive whilst he was in custody. (After HB told them his Step dad had passed away that weekend, they Told him His step dad was outside waiting for him!)
We we’re really hoping that all this would have been sorted out by now, we just want to enjoy Christmas and start the new year without it hanging over us.
sorry for the rant I’m just anxious 😇
It took 5 months and two weeks for mine to come through. I would suggest at least another 5 or 6 weeks at least before checking that you may have slipped the system. The waiting is horrible but unfortunately the letter is inevitable
 
It is not a deliberate thing. It will be one of 2 things:
Getting blood results from the Lab is taking months.
The result came back negative and someone forgot to notify you and filed the case away. This may not be the officer in the case who arrested you…. Often they hand over the file to a central enquiry unit when they go off duty and that enquiry unit handles the submission of the sample and the returning result.
 
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