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A young man is facing drunk driving charges after allegedly being in a car accident on Highway 13 near the Beaufort-Pitt County line over the weekend. Police believe the teen was heading east on Highway 33 when he lost control of his car. Authorities say that the car hit a road sign, careened into a ditch and slammed into a light pole, knocking it down.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol says that the teen called his family after the wreck. But troopers say the teen fled the area on foot. Troopers apparently responded to the scene of the accident and apparently waited for the teen’s family to arrive. Authorities say that the troopers commanded the family members to go find the teen.

The Highway Patrol says that the teen’s family brought him to the scene of the accident. At that point, the 17-year-old was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, leaving the scene of an accident and failing to maintain lane control.

It is not clear in the media what level of drunk driving charges the young man faces after the alleged incident. Most people know that the legal limit to drive in North Carolina is set at 0.08 percent blood alcohol concentration. That is what is known as the per se level of impairment, where the law-unfortunately-assumes impairment for all drivers. However, law enforcement and prosecutors can also bring charges based upon the observations of officers in a normal DWI case, if the officers believe that the driver was impaired while driving.

But for underage drivers–those who are under the age of 21–North Carolina law allows authorities to pursue underage DUI charges based upon any evidence of consumption. A teen or 20-year-old driver can face underage drinking and driving charges when well below the general legal limit of 0.08 percent BAC.

Source: WITN, “Teen Flees Scene Of Wreck, Charged With DWI,” Dec. 17, 2012

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A Winnipeg man was killed when an all-terrain vehicle rolled over along Highway 6 south of Lundar on Friday night.

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Misty Lake Lodge has become a safe haven for flood evacuees from Little Saskatchewan First Nation.
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Students at East Carolina University and Pitt Community College are gearing up for another school year. Each year, students may have a brush with the law while pursuing their studies. In Wilmington, North Carolina, law enforcement is doing something that they reportedly have not tried before in an effort to stave-off potential complaints around the UNCW campus.

Law enforcement spent a Friday night at the beginning of the school year conducting what authorities are calling “knock and talks.” Police officers went door-to-door near the campus and talked to students about the law in North Carolina. Noise complaints and underage drinking are reportedly of major concern for the officers around the campus, and officials say that they hope the effort may reduce the number of complaints concerning alleged student offenses.

Police say that for those students over the age of 21, they would speak to the college kids about potential liability that the students could face if people under the age of 21 were to be found on the property. This blog has reported a variety of stories in the past regarding such potential criminal liability, ranging from providing alcohol to an underage person and aiding and abetting charges, and more.

Greenville criminal defense lawyers know that a criminal charge, including an alcohol-related offense, can make a mark on a student’s permanent criminal record. It is important for students, and other people, in North Carolina who are facing an alcohol or other criminal offense to consider speaking with legal counsel about what criminal defenses may be available in a specific situation.

Source: WECT-TV, “Police going door-to-door to cut down on crime in neighborhoods near UNCW,” Ashlea Kosikowski, Updated Aug. 28, 2012

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Authorities in Halifax County, North Carolina accuse a man found the scene of an accident with driving while impaired and theft. Deputies fielded a report of a stolen vehicle around 3:00 in the morning earlier this month. A van owned by a pharmacy was reportedly stolen from the Littleton, North Carolina home of an employee. A Halifax County deputy looked into that allegation during the early morning of October 3.

Meanwhile, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol opened up an investigation into a single vehicle car accident in Nash County. The wreck reportedly involved a van from the Halifax County pharmacy. No driver was found at the scene of the accident. However, a trooper claims that a 20-year-old man was somewhere near the scene of the single vehicle accident. The trooper claims that not only did the young man appear to be intoxicated, but that he had injuries consistent with being in a crash.

News reports do not indicate what type of injury the Gumberry, North Carolina man had displayed, or what led the trooper to conclude that the young man was under the influence. Nonetheless, the man found near the crash site was taken into custody.

Authorities in nearby Halifax County reportedly have charged the young man with larceny. The theft of a motor vehicle charge apparently relates to the wrecked pharmacy van found unoccupied in Nash County.

Meanwhile, the North Carolina State Patrol accuses the 20-year-old driver with DWI and leaving the scene of an accident. Underage drivers can be charged with an underage drinking and driving offense based upon any evidence of alcohol impairment. It is not clear in the media whether law enforcement obtained any alcohol test from the suspect.

Authorities booked the Gumberry man into the Halifax County Jail, with bond set at ,500. A court date is scheduled for November 7.

Source: The Daily Herald, “Gumberry man arrested after Drugco van theft,” Oct. 5, 2012

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A tragic car accident was reported around 11:15 Saturday night a few miles from Farmville, North Carolina. Police say that a man in a Ford Explorer crossed the center line while traveling south on NC 121. The SUV reportedly crashed with a Ford Focus driven by a 57-year-old woman from Greenville, North Carolina.

The woman suffered fatal injuries in the tragic accident. She was pronounced dead at Vidant Medical Center. Several passengers in the SUV suffered injury. The man accused of driving the Ford Explorer is now facing charges for driving while impaired in the aftermath of the tragic accident. Police claim that the 26-year-old man was under the influence of alcohol Saturday night.

Authorities arrested the man accused of crossing the center line on several charges, including DWI, driving with a revoked license and death by motor vehicle-a felony level offense.

News reports do not indicate what led police to believe that the man was under the influence at the time of the crash. Any car accident story can pull hard on a reader’s heart strings. But it is important to note that our legal justice system provides a person accused of driving while impaired with the right to be presumed innocent of the charges unless, and until, proven guilty of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

Tragic car accidents are difficult for victim’s families, and a family’s loss is not only heartbreaking for the family, but generally for the community as well.

However, a defendant still has an important right under our Constitution to a complete defense to any criminal charges that may flow from a tragic accident.

Source: The Greenville Daily Reflector, “Farmville man charged in fatal crash,” Jane Dail, Oct. 2, 2012

Greenville DUI Attorney Blog | North Carolina Underage Drinking Lawyer | Pitt County First DUI Law Firm

An ultralight plane hit hydro wires and crashed south of Ashern on Wednesday morning.
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