Polk County DUI Attorney Blog

Law enforcement agencies in and around Polk County are stepping up their patrols in what is called Operation Full Force. This operation is focused on saturating deputy patrols looking for drunk drivers, sexual predators and juvenile offenders. With school back in session, Polk County law enforcement is trying to create a community check-up. Three weeks ago, a similar operation arrested 8 individuals with 2 drunk drivers.

Police agencies are also trying to send a message to parents that they need to be responsible for the well being of their children by educating them on the dangers of drunk driving. Traffic accidents are the number 1 killer of young people ages 15 to 20 years old. In 2005, 7460 youth drivers and passengers had been killed in a traffic related accident. Over 28% of those crashes involved alcohol.

The commonality of underage drinking is staggering. Within the past month, 28% of high school students reported that they have accepted a ride from a driver under the influence of alcohol, on at least one occasion. According to SADD, Students against Drunk Driving, statistics show that young people are less likely to use their seatbelts after drinking. Over 74% of the teens killed in car crashes in 2005 were not buckled in.

A Polk County court has sentenced a woman to ten years behind bars resulting from her involvement with a DUI crash in 2007. The State accused the defendant, 29-year old Jennifer Oatman, of making an illegal turn at a red light and crashing into another vehicle on September 14, 2007. Oatman tried to flee the scene, but the authorities caught up to her. She possessed a blood alcohol content of .186, over double the Florida legal limit for alcohol consumption of .08.

The victim and other driver involved in the crash, Tijuana Jordan, was in her final trimester of pregnancy. Doctors were forced to perform an emergency C-section of the baby after the accident. The baby, Isaiah, died within days of his traumatic birth. An autopsy determined the cause of death of baby Isaiah to be blunt force trauma from the accident.

A Polk County driver faces DUI manslaughter charges after hitting a member of a roadside construction crew in the wee hours of October 19, 2006. The driver of a white BMW, Elias Sota, lost control of his vehicle and slammed into a worksite installing traffic signals. Sota hit a young man, 18-year old Michael Gunter, while unpacking a trailer. He suffered from two broken legs and severe internal bleeding.

Gunter died months later as a result of his injuries. This week Sota will head to trial to face charges of DUI manslaughter, manslaughter by culpable negligence and two counts of DUI stemming from the 2006 crash. However, the defendant's blood alcohol content registered below the Florida legal limit of .08 at .051 and .055, at the time of arrest.

In Florida, the maximum legal limit for blood alcohol content is .08. However, the public does not understand how many drinks it would take for a driver to become legally impaired. The rate of an individual becoming intoxicated can be compared to a mathematical formula depending on the size, sex, amount of alcohol consumed, and amount of food and sleep intake during the day, including the overall health of the drinker.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration equates one drink to 1/2 ounce or exactly .54 ounces of alcohol. One drink is considered a shot of distilled alcohol, a five ounce glass of wine or a twelve ounce beer. For each thirty to forty minutes of drinking, the human body burns off .01 of its blood alcohol content.

A Polk County resident has found his second chance in life. An admitted alcoholic and native of Winter Haven, 68-year old Eddie Lee, is running for Florida Kiwanis treasurer. A drinker for over 20 years, he never had problems with the law. That soon changed. Lee had been arrested and convicted of the crime of driving under the influence. A once prominent community figure had hit rock bottom.

Lee explained that he lost his license and faced criminal penalties for his DUI conviction. This difficult time in his life sent him into a self described downward spiral. He struggled with alcohol dependency and eventually became homeless for five years.

Lee is proud that he has moved past the days of drinking and criminal charges of DUI. He volunteers with several charities around the Polk County area and has most recently been nominated for the Florida Kiwanis Club treasurer.

Police charge a Zephyrhills driver with multiple alcohol related offenses after allegedly colliding with a police cruiser. The driver, 27-year old Alex Rodriguez, collided head on with Detective Brian Felts while he was on his way into work. Detective Felts chased Rodriguez's car on foot for over a quarter of a mile before the vehicle finally came to a stop.

An ambulance transported Rodriguez to Florida Hospital where he submitted to a breathalyzer test over three hours after the accident. The defendant blew 0.113, well above the legal limit of .08. Rodriguez now faces charges of DUI, knowingly driving on a suspended or revoked license, DUI causing damage to property and person and leaving the scene of an accident that caused injury. He has been denied bond and is currently awaiting trial within the Land O' Lakes Jail.

As a general rule it takes the human body around one hour to process one alcoholic beverage. Rodriguez submitted his breathalyzer test over three hours after the crash had taken place and his blood alcohol limit was still well over the legal limit of 0.08. There are many factors that contribute to the level of the blood alcohol content beyond alcohol consumption. Size, gender, the amount of sleep and food intake all impact a consumer's blood alcohol level.