For more information on this article, contact Broward DUI Attorney, William R. Moore Criminal Defense.
The Fort Lauderdale Herald reported yesterday that a Marion County woman is facing DUI charges after police found her passed out in her vehicle.
On Monday, October 20, police in Ocala, Florida responded to a report that a woman was sleeping in her parked Isuzu truck with a child in the front seat. The truck was parked on the shoulder of the road.
Police found Kimberly Gae Equatore, 42, passed out in driver’s seat of the truck with her 4-year-old son in the front seat. Equatore informed an official from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office that she had consumed several beers, but later denied consuming any alcohol. Several small, partially empty bottles of vodka were found in the backseat and in Equatore’s purse.
Equatore was uncooperative while taking a field sobriety test and refused to submit to an Intoxilyzer breath test. She was arrested for DUI and subsequently jailed. The Florida Department of Children and Families, as well as Equatore’s husband, were contacted regarding the child’s safety.
Under Florida law, driving under the influence can occur even if the car is parked. This is known as a non-driving DUI. The driver needs to be in actual physical control of the vehicle while intoxicated. The person behind the wheel is often found to be in actual physical control of a vehicle when the keys are in the ignition, even if the engine is turned off. The prosecutor does not even need to prove that the person behind the wheel of the car drove at all. In some cases, the people found sleeping it off in a car have been charged with DUI even when the keys were not in the ignition or the car was inoperable. Perhaps even more surprisingly, you can be charged with a DUI under these circumstances even if you were asleep in your car on private property instead of a public street. Last year, Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver David Boston was charged with DUI in a high profile case after he was found asleep in his vehicle with the depressant GHB in his system. A breath test found no alcohol in his system.
Our Broward, Fort Lauderdale-Dade, and Broward County DUI attorney, William R. Moore Criminal Defense Law Firm can represent you in court if you have been charged with drunk driving. Offices are located in Fort Lauderdale and Broward County, Florida.
Woman found passed out in truck with child, The Fort Lauderdale Herald, October 22, 2008
Woman found asleep in truck with 4-year-old faces DUI charge, The Gainesville Sun, October 21, 2008