Xanax pills and North Carolina DWI charges
Police say a man who wrecked his car on Sunday, Sept. 11 was on prescription pills at the time of the accident. The 48-year-old Morganton resident is now facing DWI charges in North Carolina. Law enforcement responded to a call reporting a single vehicle accident at 5:18 p.m. on Sept. 11.
Law enforcement says the Morganton man was traveling toward Interstate 40 on a Morganton road when his 2001 Pontiac apparently ran off the road. Police believe the car struck a guardrail, and then continued down an embankment before overturning. The driver became trapped in the overturned vehicle.
Police and paramedics reportedly responded to the traffic accident. Emergency responders were able to free the man from the Pontiac. Paramedics reportedly treated the man at the scene of the crash for any injuries he may have sustained.
After the roll-over crash, an officer says the driver appeared lethargic. The officer says the man appeared unsteady on his feet and slurred his speech after the automobile wreck. Additionally, according to the officer, the man “would periodically close his eyes, lower his head and would not respond to questions” at the scene of the crash.
Law enforcement says the driver denied having consumed any alcohol before driving. The police claim the driver said he had taken some Xanax. Police claim the man turned over some Xanax pills to the officer.
Law enforcement reportedly asked the man to perform some field sobriety tests. Authorities also took a blood sample, though no test results have yet been made available.
The 48-year-old driver has been charged with DWI, related to the allegations of the officer’s observations, the accident and the potential evidence that Xanax may have been present in the man’s system at the time of the accident.
Source: The News Herald, “Report: pills led to crash, DWI,” Sept. 14, 2011