A 44-year old man from Folsom, Louisiana was booked with DWI after he jumped into the waters of Lake Pontchartrain last Sunday in order to avoid a field sobriety test. The man was stopped on the Casueway Bridge after another driver reported to police that he was speeding and swerving his vehicle.
After he was pulled over, the man got out of his vehicle and began waving his hands in the air without instructions to do so. The officer asked for vehicle registration and the man re-entered his car and exited holding scraps of paper and compact discs. Accordding to police, the man was swaying, smelled of alchohol and was wearing a green St. Patrick’s Day necklace. Sunday was the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Metairie, Louisiana.
The officer asked the man to provide a field sobriety test. Once he began the test he bolted toward the edge of the bridge and jumped twenty feet into Lake Pontchartrain. The man grabbed onto a utility piling and the police tossed him a life ring. He was hauled in fifteen minutes later.
The suspect arrests for alleged driving while intoxicated go back to June 1992 and has had seven DWI arrests since that time. Convictions for DWI accrue for only ten years so it is important to hire an attorney who knows Lousiana drunk driving laws in order to determine if any past convictions can be used against you.
If you or anyone you know have been arrested for driving drunk, call Harmon Smith & Vourvoulias immediately at 504-717-2093 for a free case evaluation. Our experienced DWI lawyers will be able to help you protect your rights.
