HOUSTON, March 30 (UPI) -- Prosecutors allege a Houston doctor was very drunk when he struck two British women last year and drove away, leaving them badly injured.
Plastic surgeon Dr. Mark Gilliland is charged with two counts of intoxication assault, which on conviction could carry a sentence ranging from 2 years' probation to 10 years in prison, The Houston Chronicle said.
As the trial began, Assistant District Attorney Warren Diepraam said the surgeon chose to drive home despite having consumed vodka martinis and wine at a restaurant.
Defense attorney Dick DeGuerin countered that Gilliland's Mercedes did not go onto the sidewalk, but that the women had stepped into the path of the car.
"They're from England -- they looked in the wrong direction," DeGuerin said.
Gilliland was arrested after an off-duty policeman saw that he was driving erratically, speeding and that his windshield had been smashed, The Times of London said.
Blood tests taken several hours after the accident showed Gilliland had taken diet drugs, anti-depressants and sleeping pills and had a blood-alcohol content above the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
