DWI with Vehicle Crash

December 13, 2021

If you have been arrested for a DWI after a vehicle crash, you need to secure an experienced DWI attorney as soon as possible.

What To Expect:

After the police arrive on the scene of a vehicle crash where intoxication is suspected, they will ask for consent for testing. If you refuse a blood test, they will obtain a search warrant to take the blood sample.
It is possible that once you refused a test, the officer may obtain a blood warrant from a judge granting permission to take a blood sample for testing. Typically, a nurse or phlebotomist will take the blood sample, which will be sent to a lab for testing. It can take up to 9 months to receive the results of this test.

Possible Punishment:

The possible punishment for a first time DWI with an alcohol concentration between .08 and .15 is considered a Class B Misdemeanor in Texas. It carries a maximum punishment of 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.

If your blood alcohol concentration is .15 or higher, the offense is a Class A Misdemeanor with a maximum punishment of 365 days in jail and a $4,000 fine.

You also face a $3,000 State Traffic fine.

In the case of a DWI involving a vehicle accident, police and prosecutors are becoming more aggressive in how they prosecute these crimes and are often trying to convict for assault or manslaughter charges as well, which, if you are convicted, can carry life-altering sentences and consequences.

How Steve Dennis Can Help:

An experienced attorney is essential when the case goes to trial. In the case of DWI with a vehicular crash, the prosecution must prove two things beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. that the defendant was intoxicated at the time of the crash
2. that the defendant was operating the motor vehicle at the time of the crash.
   

Because police can arrive on the scene hours after the crash occurs, it is very difficult to prove both that the defendant was operating the vehicle at the time of the crash and that the defendant was intoxicated. A qualified attorney can cast doubt on the police officer’s warrant for a blood test as well as their knowledge of events that they did not personally witness. This gives you the best chance of beating the charges and avoiding potentially life-altering consequences that come with a conviction related to a vehicle crash.