Saturday, July 26, 2008
Highway Patrol Sergeant smokes marijuana, causes fatal DUI accident
San Diego DUI attorneys hear a Nevada Highway Patrol sergeant accused of smoking marijuana off-duty before causing a fatal three-vehicle crash resigned Friday.
NHP spokesman Dan Burns told The Associated Press that Edward Lattin, 20-year NHP veteran who headed a team that investigated fatal crashes, submitted his resignation.
Lattin, 46, was facing two internal investigations stemming from the June crash, Burns said. Watkins has denied that Lattin was impaired by marijuana. He said Lattin is diabetic, and might have had a reaction to a blood sugar level fluctuation or another medical episode while driving.
Lattin is free on $50,000 bail awaiting an Oct. 15 court hearing on a felony charge of driving under the influence resulting in death. He faces a mandatory two to 20 years in prison if convicted. A Las Vegas judge also ordered Lattin to submit to random drug tests and give up driving until his criminal case is resolved.
Las Vegas police say Lattin's Ford F-150 was traveling 53 mph to 58 mph when it slammed into the back of a Toyota sedan stopped in a center turn lane about 1:30 p.m. June 11 on a busy boulevard several miles west of the Las Vegas Strip. The posted speed limit is 45 mph.
A passenger in the Toyota, Ying Warren, 49, was killed when she was thrown from the car as it spun into oncoming traffic and was hit by a Chevrolet pickup. The drivers of the Toyota and the Chevrolet pickup were treated for various injuries and released.
Witnesses told police that just before the crash Lattin's pickup almost struck another car and ran up on a sidewalk before swerving across three traffic lanes and hitting the Toyota.
Police later said Lattin's blood contained levels of the active ingredient in marijuana that were about 2½ times the limit that state law presumes a person to be impaired.
Police said Lattin had 5.6 nanograms per milliliter of delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in marijuana in his blood, along with 26 nanograms per milliliter of THC carboxylic acid, a marijuana metabolite. The state limit is 2 nanograms of THC.
www.SanDiegoDUIhelp.com
NHP spokesman Dan Burns told The Associated Press that Edward Lattin, 20-year NHP veteran who headed a team that investigated fatal crashes, submitted his resignation.
Lattin, 46, was facing two internal investigations stemming from the June crash, Burns said. Watkins has denied that Lattin was impaired by marijuana. He said Lattin is diabetic, and might have had a reaction to a blood sugar level fluctuation or another medical episode while driving.
Lattin is free on $50,000 bail awaiting an Oct. 15 court hearing on a felony charge of driving under the influence resulting in death. He faces a mandatory two to 20 years in prison if convicted. A Las Vegas judge also ordered Lattin to submit to random drug tests and give up driving until his criminal case is resolved.
Las Vegas police say Lattin's Ford F-150 was traveling 53 mph to 58 mph when it slammed into the back of a Toyota sedan stopped in a center turn lane about 1:30 p.m. June 11 on a busy boulevard several miles west of the Las Vegas Strip. The posted speed limit is 45 mph.
A passenger in the Toyota, Ying Warren, 49, was killed when she was thrown from the car as it spun into oncoming traffic and was hit by a Chevrolet pickup. The drivers of the Toyota and the Chevrolet pickup were treated for various injuries and released.
Witnesses told police that just before the crash Lattin's pickup almost struck another car and ran up on a sidewalk before swerving across three traffic lanes and hitting the Toyota.
Police later said Lattin's blood contained levels of the active ingredient in marijuana that were about 2½ times the limit that state law presumes a person to be impaired.
Police said Lattin had 5.6 nanograms per milliliter of delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in marijuana in his blood, along with 26 nanograms per milliliter of THC carboxylic acid, a marijuana metabolite. The state limit is 2 nanograms of THC.
www.SanDiegoDUIhelp.com
# posted by SanDiegoDUI @ 12:47 PM 
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