DC DUI Homicide Sentenced

According to a recent story in the Washington Post, Chamica Adams, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter (negligent vehicular homicide) and was sentenced to three years, four months in prison.  Adams was the woman arrested for a DUI related crash that killed one female graduate student, and seriously injured another in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, DC.  Her car hit the two pedestrians and then crashed into a restaurant.  According to court documents, Adams had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of twice the legal limit.

In Washington, DC, the legal limit is 0.08 grams per milliliter of blood.  If you give a chemical test sample though blood, breath, or urine that results in a BAC of 0.08 or higher, you can be charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI).  In DC, DWI is considered a per se violation meaning that the police only need to show that you were driving a vehicle with a BAC of 0.08 or higher.  They do not need to show that the driver is actually under the influence of intoxicating liquor of drugs.

As your Washington, DC DUI lawyer can explain, this does not mean that you cannot be charged with drunk driving if your BAC is within the legal limit.  A driving under the influence (DUI) charge requires a showing that the driver is suffering from the effects of alcohol but does not require a specific BAC score.  The DC Metropolitan Police, Capital Police, or US Park Police can also charge a driver with Operation While Impaired (OWI), if they can show any level of impairment.