Young people can make mistakes. Whether they are the result of peer pressure or a youthful slip in character, some of these mistakes can have long-term legal consequences. One Minnesota teenager is discovering this as he deals with drunk driving charges that involve a stolen vehicle.
Northfield police officers spotted a car driving erratically driving down a local road. Eventually, the driver brought the car to a stop and was approached by authorities, according to police reports. At this point, cops found an 18-year-old man who appeared to be impaired. Additionally, the teen was verbally repeating that he was drunk. A breath test measured the teen’s blood-alcohol concentration to be .224 percent. At the time of the arrest, the young man was unsure how he got the vehicle he was driving.
Although the young man involved in this case was reportedly well over the legal limit at the time police found him, it’s critical to point out that an underage driver doesn’t have to be over .08 percent to receive a drunk driving citation. In fact, charges could be filed even if small amounts of alcohol are found in an underage driver’s system. These legal challenges could end up affecting a young person for the rest of his or her life.
In this particular case, there is no indication how law enforcement will proceed. The young man is believed to have registered a high level of intoxication when he was behind the wheel, which could affect how harsh of a sentence is pursued. At the same time, however, the accused man’s relative youth could also play a role in how proceedings move forward.
Source: Northfield News, “Underage drunk driver arrested in stolen vehicle,” Carrie Sviggum, Sept. 23, 2013
