LOUISVILLE, Ky., Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Prosecutors appealed a Kentucky drunken driver case, saying the sleeping driver's roaring engine and other evidence indicated he intended to drive while drunk.
Louisville police last January found Michael Howard unconscious in his truck, the ignition on, one hand on the steering wheel, the other on the gearshift and his foot on the accelerator, The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal reported Saturday.
A police officer testified he was unable to awaken Howard and had to break open one of the truck's windows because he thought the overheating engine might start a fire or the truck might be knocked into gear and hit another car or a pedestrian.
Howard had admitted he had been drinking and his Breathalyzer test was nearly three times the legal limit for being drunk, police say.
A Jefferson District Court judge on Oct. 21 refused to let prosecutors use the results of the Breathalyzer test in their case against Howard for driving under the influence because Howard was, technically, not driving.
"How am I supposed to figure out what (the driver's) intent is?" the judge asked, adding that Howard might have intended to drive home or he may have decided to sleep it off inside his vehicle.
The Jefferson County Attorney's Office appealed, saying reasonable inference and circumstantial evidence indicate Howard left the establishment where he had been drinking intending to drive away, but "passed out in the process and failed to take his foot off the gas pedal."
The defense has not yet responded to the prosecution's appeal.
