A woman that was found guilty of “drugging and driving” was taken into custody during her trial after showing signs, such as sleepiness, that proved she had taken Oxycodone and smoked marijuana sometime before she entered court, as reported by the Daily Local News.
Sheriff deputies took D.D.G., 22, into custody during her three-day trial. She was facing DUI charges stemming a multiple-vehicle crash she caused on Route 1 in Lower Oxford.
It took jurors less than an hour to return a guilty verdict for aggravated assault while driving under the influence, DUI, and recklessly endangering another person.
One expert for the prosecution testified that D.D.G. was a habitual marijuana smoker.
After jurors delivered their verdict, and were dismissed by Common Please Court Judge Phyllis Streitel, the judge ordered that D.D.G. be tested for drugs. The judge said that she herself had witnessed the defendant’s behavior – nodding off during testimony – and had grown suspicious of her possible drug use.
The testing proved positive for both marijuana and Oxycodone – and D.D.G. admitted to smoking marijuana on the day of the trial.
The judge then revoked D.D.G.’s $25,000 bail and ordered her to Chester County Prison for sentencing.
Thomas Ost-Prisco, the Assistant District Attorney, said that D.D.G. is possibly facing six to 14 months in prison. Ost-Price noted that a forensic expert testified that D.D.G. had over six times the legal driving limit of THC (the intoxicant found in marijuana) in her blood following the car crash.
The defense had argued that there was no proof that the blood tested was from D.D.G., but the jury rejected that idea.
The incident occurred on the evening of March 12, 2010. Police arrived on the scene of a four-vehicle crash. D.D.G. was found unconscious in her Ford Focus and another man, A.B., was injured in his Dodge Stratus. Both were taken to Newark’s Christiana Hospital for treatment.
A.N. proved to have fractured ribs, and both his spleen and kidney were lacerated.
Trooper K.M. reported that D.D.G., traveling at a high rate of speed, hit the rear of a truck. The impact sent the truck off the side of the roadway. D.D.G. then crossed over the median and drove into A.N.’s vehicle and one other, a Ford truck.
Trooper K.M., along with Trooper T.M. noted several cigars in D.D.G.’s vehicle.
Some marijuana users tuck the illegal drug inside a cigar – in an attempt to disguise the drug’s identifiable smell.
Trooper S.E. interviewed D.D.G. in the hospital. She admitted to smoking marijuana, however, she claimed the last time she did so was three weeks before the crash.
Ost-Prisco said that D.D.G. “started the party a little early” before she got in her car and planned to meet up with friends after work that night.
If you have been charged with DUI, DWI, OUI or OWI, you must contact a DUI attorney for help. Once you are on trial, with a qualified DUI attorney, you will be in the safest hands possible.