This blog opposes drinking and driving.
Driving drunk and hitting a police car is an even worse idea.
In Spokane, Washington, a pickup driver made a “California stop” at an intersection, i.e., he slowed at a stop sign, but didn’t come to a complete stop, as drivers are required to do.
It would’ve been hard not to see the oncoming police car, because it had its lights and siren going; the officer was responding to an emergency call (about a baby that had stopped breathing; fortunately, the baby is okay).
The short and long of it is the police driver executed an evasive maneuver, but couldn’t completely avoid the pickup, and bounced off it into a parked camper and power pole. The pickup driver and his passenger were injured and transported to a hospital. The officer suffered minor injuries.
- Here’s what the pickup driver is looking at:
- Paying to replace the power pole and repair the power lines
- Paying to replace the destroyed camper
- Paying to repair the police car
- Paying to repair his car
- Paying a lawyer to defend him against a DUI charge
- Paying court fines and paying for sobriety classes
- Paying another lawyer to defend him against personal injury claims
- Paying the officer’s, his, and his passenger’s medical expenses
- Paying the officer and his passenger for pain and suffering
- Paying much higher insurance premiums in the future
Those were expensive drinks. Probably not worth what they cost him.