Passenger Fights DUI For Steering As Driver Ate
CARLISLE, Pa. -- A Pennsylvania man is fighting a DUI charge, on the grounds that he was in the passenger's seat.
A state trooper said Derek Pittman had reached over and was steering the car while the driver was taking a bite of a sandwich that he was holding in both hands.
The trooper said the car was weaving on the road before he pulled it over. He said he then noticed a strong odor of alcohol coming from the car and saw the driver holding a large sandwich with both hands. So he gave Pittman a field sobriety test and he failed.
The trooper said the alcohol odor wasn't coming from the driver; it was coming from Pittman. Records show that when the trooper asked the driver why the car was swerving, Pittman leaned across the front seat and told the trooper it was his fault because he had briefly held onto the steering wheel while his friend was taking a bite of his sandwich.
Pittman's attorney said the driver never took his hand off the steering wheel, so the charge should be thrown out.
Police said the driver passed a breath test, but the passenger had a blood-alcohol content nearly three times the legal limit for driving in Pennsylvania. The Associated Press earlier reported that the driver was not given a sobriety test, but later corrected that statement.
Court records show that the first district judge refused to sign the original arrest warrant for Pittman.
"I don't believe there is probable cause to believe Mr. Pittman was in actual physical control of the vehicle," the judge told the trooper in a note, according to The Patriot News.
The paper said the district attorney's office then petitioned for permission to ask another district judge to sign an arrest warrant. And in February, a different district judge signed the second warrant.
A hearing is scheduled later this month in Cumberland County Court over the Dec. 26 incident.
CARLISLE, Pa. -- A Pennsylvania man is fighting a DUI charge, on the grounds that he was in the passenger's seat.
A state trooper said Derek Pittman had reached over and was steering the car while the driver was taking a bite of a sandwich that he was holding in both hands.
The trooper said the car was weaving on the road before he pulled it over. He said he then noticed a strong odor of alcohol coming from the car and saw the driver holding a large sandwich with both hands. So he gave Pittman a field sobriety test and he failed.
The trooper said the alcohol odor wasn't coming from the driver; it was coming from Pittman. Records show that when the trooper asked the driver why the car was swerving, Pittman leaned across the front seat and told the trooper it was his fault because he had briefly held onto the steering wheel while his friend was taking a bite of his sandwich.
Pittman's attorney said the driver never took his hand off the steering wheel, so the charge should be thrown out.
Police said the driver passed a breath test, but the passenger had a blood-alcohol content nearly three times the legal limit for driving in Pennsylvania. The Associated Press earlier reported that the driver was not given a sobriety test, but later corrected that statement.
Court records show that the first district judge refused to sign the original arrest warrant for Pittman.
"I don't believe there is probable cause to believe Mr. Pittman was in actual physical control of the vehicle," the judge told the trooper in a note, according to The Patriot News.
The paper said the district attorney's office then petitioned for permission to ask another district judge to sign an arrest warrant. And in February, a different district judge signed the second warrant.
A hearing is scheduled later this month in Cumberland County Court over the Dec. 26 incident.