DUI with Property Damage Attorney in Tampa Florida

If you have been arrested for DUI with Property Damage in Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida, certain enhanced penalties apply if you are convicted of the criminal offense. Contact a Tampa DUI Attorney at the Sammis Law Firm to discuss fighting this very serious criminal charge.

DUI cases involving property damage are prosecuted aggressively in Tampa. Statistics published by government agencies show that DUI accidents comprise nearly forty percent (40%) of all vehicle crashes involving a fatality. Of those vehicle crashes that result in personal injury each year in the United States, nearly 10% involve alcohol. In 2002 alone, DUI accidents killed more than 17,000 people. Organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) allege that DUI accidents are the most serious threats to public safety on the roadway.

Even if your case did not involve any kind of personal injury, the prosecutors look very closely at any DUI case that involves a car accident or crash because certain enhanced penalities apply to those charges. Under Florida law, the criminal charge of DUI that causes damage to another person or property is a first degree misdemeanor punishable by up to (12) twelve months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Compare that with a first DUI without any accident which has a punishment of up to six months in jail and a $500 fine for a first DUI or nine months in jail for a second DUI.

Despite the seriousness of the accusation, in DUI cases with Property Damage, certain defense are more likely to be available, including:

• Crash Report Privilege -The accident report privilege under Florida law provides immunity to a person making a statement during the course of an accident or crash investigation including during a DUI with property damage investigation in Florida.

• Roadside Agility Exercises - During a DUI investigation, the law enforcement officer may request that the driver step out of the vehicle and perform certain field sobriety exercises. If the investigation takes place after a car crash with property damage then the results may not accurate to the extend they are impacted by the driver being "shook up" or injured from the crash.

• Breath Test- If the air bags in the driver's vehicle were deployed during the accident many experts believe that this fact alone can cause the breath test machine to record a higher and inaccurate reading; and

• Wheel Witness - If the driver exited the vehicle after the accident but before the police arrived on the scene, then the prosecutor may have a more difficult time proving that who actually drove the vehicle at the time of the accident, particularly if the driver did not make any admissions that he was driving or if those admissions are excluded under the crash report privilege.

• Intervening Cause Defense - If the defendant's conduct did not cause or contribute to the property damage, or if another unexpected cause contributed to the damage then an intervening cause defense may exist in the case.
  

If you have been arrested in Tampa or Hillsborough County, FL, for DUI, contact an experienced attorney to discuss ways to fight this serious charge. Call 813-250-0500 to discuss the circumstances of your DUI case in Tampa today.