Martin Police are investigating a DUI crash which occurred around 12:37 a.m. Tuesday, November 24 on Oxford St. A 19-year old has been charged in the crash with underage driving while impaired, violation of drinking age law and failure to maintain of a motor vehicle.
According to the incident report, A Martin Police officer responded to a motor vehicle crash of a F-250 into a home on Oxford Street.
The officer wrote that when he made contact with the driver Tanner C. Seratt, 19, Seratt told him he had an accident. The officer, while observing the scene, wrote that it appeared Seratt’s F-250 was traveling southbound on Mill Street while approaching the intersection of Mill Street and Oxford Street. The officer said it appeared Seratt continued through the intersection and into the northbound wall of the house on Oxford Street.
While speaking to Seratt, the officer wrote that he observed Seratt’s eyes to be red and glassy and he detected the odor of an intoxicating type beverage on Seratt and in Seratt’s breath. The officer asked Seratt if he had drank any alcohol and Seratt said he had drank about one case of beer. The officer also wrote that Seratt was very unsteady on his feet.
The incident report stated the officer had Seratt perform a series of standardized field sobriety tests. During the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Tests (HGNs), the officer was able to observe Vertical Gaze Nystagmus, which indicates a high level of intoxication. The officer wrote that Seratt did complete the tests in a manner which “led me to believe that it would be unsafe for him to operate a motor vehicle on a public roadway.”
Seratt was placed under arrest for suspicion of driving under the influence. It was also learned that Seratt was under the age of 21, the legal age to drink alcohol and he was transported to the Martin Police Department for booking procedures.
While at MPD, the officer read Seratt the Implied Consent Law and Searatt gave his consent to give a breath sample. About 21 minutes later, Seratt’s samples came back to be .242 g/210L, .216 g/210L and .226 g/210L with a final result of .216 g/ 210 L.
It’s illegal for a driver over the age of 21 to have a BAC above 0.08 percent. All states have zero tolerance laws for drivers under 21. Zero-tolerance laws make it a criminal DUI offense for drivers under the age of 21 to drive with even a small amount of alcohol in their system, ranging from 0.00 to 0.02 percent BAC depending on the state.