Question
I am the wife of a driver that was in an accident March 1 of this year.
The accident was in Maine on the Wells Turnpick at York, Maine. There was a fatality
in the accident. My husband is now in the Coumberland County Jail.
Mike has had no problem with his physicallys in the past. Mike had passed out and
wrecked the truck, he was headed North and the other man South, the papers have
stated that the man in the other car hit Mike after his truck had came to a stop. Mike was blocking both south bound lanes.The
night of the accident he was poped for a P-test and they found protein in it. They
took blood and found that his sugar was very hi. His boss got him on a plain home and
the 2nd I took him to the Dr. he took blood and his suger was still very hi. He found a
Dr. in Metropolis, ILL. where we live and has been doing what the Dr. has told him to
do to keep his suger in a good range.
He turned 46 September 15 and that was the day the Inditment papers came in. He
was to be in court for his areignment on October 14. He sent a letter asking for a
posponment of the areignment so he could make sure the boys and I where ready for
what was to happen and were with family as there is none in Ill.
We received the denial back October 12. I had no money to send him out there as Mike
had not worked from the time of the accident. The 14th came and that evening we got
a call from an attorney and his son, they said they would take the case and for Mike
not to turn himself in the next morning. The son, went to talk to the States Attorney
on the 15 and before he could get back to his office the States Attorney had called
down here and the police where at the house and Mike was being arrested.
What I need is if you know my husband Mike Rogers, his handel is Blue Dragon, he
drove for Butler Transport inc. out of Kansas City, Kansas. We would like you to send a
letter of personal referance or character referance.
If you think Mike, Blue Dragon is getting a bad rap on this and you are going to Maine.
Swing by the Jail and let him know by blowing your air horn.
Also if you know the other man that was involved in the accident please have him get
in contact with me. My E-Mail is momkat2@hotmail.com
I am in great need of the information and would love to here what you have to say on
the case. I will put updates as i get them.
Answer
Let me see if I have this right. Your hubby was involved in an accident that resulted in a fatality. I am going to assume that your hubby was taken to a hospital for treatment, as well as post-accident drug testing, since he had passed out behind the wheel and that is how the hi protein level was detected (This would not have shown up on a drug test alone). So the hospital discharges him, he flies home, is diagnosed and treated by a family physician for uncontrolled diabetes.
So far everything seems OK. A good lawyer should be able to prove that the accident was caused by an undetected medical problem.
If nothing else, I would like to think that charges would be dropped or at least reduced.
I think the problem with your hubby being in jail is due to bad advice by an attorney about not turning himself in or not showing up in court for whatever reason.
Unless your hubby tested positive for drugs or alcohol immediately after the accident, or his medical card was bogus or outdated, I don't think him being in jail has anything to do with the cause of the accident. It appears to me that he is in jail for failing to appear in court. But I'm no attorney, and I may not have all the facts here.
Your husband's medical condition may have caused the accident, and I am glad that he is now under a doctor's care and doing well, I think you need legal advice vs. medical advice. Let me see if we can get Opie in one this one. Please write back if you have info I am missing for the big picture.
My heart goes out to you and your family. Regardless of the causes this must be a very difficult time for all of you. Please let us know if there is anything the RT members can do to help.
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Keeping you safe, healthy, and on the road.
Nurse Red
Visit us at www.Truck.net/abmsVisit us at
Answer
Murse Red, when the hospital did the drug test thay found Proteen in his yerin, (not sure I spelled it right) that was how we found out he needed to get in to see a Dr. and we got him in the next day.
I was hopping you could get me some info. on if thay can hold him if he had passed out. So far thay have not charged him with not appering. If you can think of some thing that would help please get in touch with me. Thank you for your help so far. Kat
Answer
You need an attorneys advice as of yesterday. The legal aid attorneys are about as useful as a screen door in a submarine, unfortunately. Look around for a local law school and see if you can get some free paralegal assistance.
An indictment is not normally issued until after a grand jury proceeding. The police provide what is known as an "information" to the local district attorney. Usually an assistant district attorney, known as an ADA, will then make a decision as to whether or not to proceed further. While is is true a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich you have the option of appearing at a grand jury to present your side of the story. Did this happen? What was the specific indictment for? You are generally entitled to a first time "all-purpose adjournment" regardless of reason. There are a lot of missing pieces in this story.
First off you must obtain a file folder and collect all information regarding the case. You must request a copy of the accident reports and the arrest reports.
Now we come to square one. Your husband needs to get out of jail. Has there been a bail hearing? If not this must be requested. If the bail is set too high a motion can be made to reduce bail, accompanied by a supportive packet. If released on bail there are generally a set of rigid conditions regarding travel which make it impossible for a person to work a normal job. If your husband can obtain work other than driving and this work requires travel to a specific place far from where you live this must be stipulated. He will be required to report in to a representative of the court. In federal cases this is the "pre-trial services officer". Try to have your attorney suggest this be a telephone call in rather than a personal visit. This is important because in some cases they require a once a week personal report-in which can involve a days travel time.
If your husband is in a jail now you must make a MOTION to have him released on bail, or a lowered bail. If this is denied you can appeal the denial of motion. You also should be making a motion before the court for dismissal of all charges. You need an attorney or a law student to help you through this. Nothing happens in a court without making what is called a "motion". That is the protocol used for changing your husband's status. You submit a motion to lower bail and enclose an annex with supporting documents. This includes data on home ownership, time on the job, family status, number of kids. The idea is to show "roots in the community". Many courts now use (sadly) a computerized format giving a certain number of points for every category. If you get above a certain number of points you are entitled to release in the absence of special circumstances which may make the judge believe you are a threat to the community. This presumption of dangerousness is a relatively recent development in the court system.
The best advice I can give you to give your husband is to NOT DISCUSS THIS CASE, most especially with fellow cell-mates, screws, court officers, drivers at work or anyone else. Once the situation has proceeded to this point the only place to make a statement is in court, after CLEARING it with an attorney. Tell your husband to keep his yap shut. The system is not for real.
The medical issue is another missing piece. Generally, for a criminal conviction to take place there must be a proved element of intent. If your husband was a diagnosed diabetic and did not reveal this information on his physicial there is another issue. The medical issue may or may not be considered as "matters in extenuation and mitigation".
Good luck.
[This message has been edited by newyorktwo (edited December 07, 1999).]
Answer
WOW! NY2 You know a lot of stuff about a lot of different subjects!
Aside from the legal issues being discussed in your post, I have a problem with one statement. "The protein was found in his urine on the drug test." A true D.O.T. drug screening MUST be performed by a NIDA?SAMSHA certified lab. That lab may test for 5 substances and 5 substances only. The specific gravity and urine creatinine are reported but those values only indicate if this was truly human urine and whether it was dilute or not. NO testing for protein is performed on this drug test.
Now it may be that the hospital personnel knows absolutely nothing about DOT regs and simply did a urine for toxicology right there in the hospital lab. This type of testing will look for any medications or illicit drugs in the patient's system as well as reporting out abnormal values for a routine urinalysis. The protein issue would be revealed if this is the case. And law enforcement personnel can use this information to press charges if illicit substances are found in the urine and blood samples taken. Usually a blood sample is done at the same time a urine for tox. is done and they hospital would have been able to determine and document that the patient was definitely in a diabetic crisis. This documentation will help prove that there was a medical condition behind this accident.
But as NY2 stated, if the driver knew he had a problem and did not reveal it on the last DOT physical exam then he will be found at fault and most likely charged.If the examiner failed to test or notice an abnormality on the urine specimen provided for the physical (which does test for sugar and protein) then that is another matter and he/she should be charged as well since they failed to provide a proper exam per regulations. If you have access to a copy of the physical exam form (not just the card) look towards the bottom of the form for the information re: urine testing. It should read
Specific gravity, albumin(protein), and glucose (sugar). The albumin and glucose should be negative or zero. If they are marked positive at any level, there should have been lab work (blood)performed to verify or dispute the findings of the urine test.
This is the exact type of situation that they DOT is trying to eliminate by submitting drivers to these physical exams. Unfortunately, not all physicals are performed by qualified medical personnel familiar with the DOT regulations. What may be a normal value for the general population is not always aceeptable by DOT standards.
I would love to see a copy of this physical exam to determine how long ago it was done, by whom, and what the results were.
Please keep us informed as to how this is progressing for you. Sure wish Opie would get in here and help us with this one.
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Keeping you safe, healthy, and on the road.
Nurse Red
Visit us at www.Truck.net/abmsVisit us at
Answer
Nurse Red and New York Two,
I just wanted to let you know that to the best of me ability i am trying to get him home by Christmass because he was NOT notified about the Grand Jury hearing on the inditment. The only legal notification we had gotten was the court date for October 14 1999. We did get some reports from the police but that was it. Now as to his last fisical I do beleve the police have it as thay took a lot of his paper work out of the truck with out his permition and thay would not even let him get his coat and it had been raining that nigh.
I have talked to him and gave him the info that I have gotten and he told me to tell you THANK YOU THANK YOU. You all have been a big help and he wishes he could tell you his self but he is not abel at this time but with every ones praires maybe soon. No let me refrase that with every ones praires he WILL TELL YOU SOON.
If you know of some one that is going to Maine tell them about the post and have them read it. He is in Portland, Maine and if we could get drivers to start blowing there air horns it will rase peoples awarness and that may get him out sooner. As of right now no one knowes Mikes side and that could make it to where the papers and news will take notice. The only side right now that has been told is the other mans wifes side and I do hurt for het as I know what it is like to loose a person that you are close to.
I will let you know more as i get it.
You all take care and post me if you have an idea that could help.
Kat
Ps I finaly got my signature
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In all you do may God be there and help you along the way