A Colorado woman from Loveland was recently arrested on suspicion of DUI. Her DUI arrest took place after police said she crashed her vehicle into a lake. Reportedly, she was rescued by a good Samaritan who was passing by at the time of the accident.
The accident happened as the 22-year-old woman was headed north on a street shortly after 10 p.m. on a Saturday. Apparently, she kept going straight even though she was supposed to make either a right or left turn. Her car went down a bank, across a shore and landed in a lake over 50 feet away from dry land. A passerby saw the crash, swam out to the car, broke out the window on the passenger side and pulled the woman out.
Officials worked throughout the night to retrieve the car from the lake, battling temperatures lower than 20 degrees for multiple hours. The woman suffered minor injuries in the collision and was taken to the hospital. Police took her into custody after she was treated and then released. She now may face criminal charges, including DUI of drugs or alcohol as well as careless driving.
A person charged with DUI in Colorado has a couple of options. First, he or she may proceed directly to trial to fight the accusations, and legal issues may exist that require motion practice before the court. Second, instead of going to trial, the person may decide to take advantage of a plea deal offered by the prosecution, if one is available. A plea agreement may offer the benefit of leading to a lighter sentence for the accused than might be imposed should a trial result in a finding of guilt. In the end, the accused individual — alongside legal counsel — has every right to make decisions designed to achieve a result that is in his or her best interests.
Source: coloradoan.com, “Motorist who crashed car into lake jailed for DUI“, Jason Pohl, Dec. 1, 2015