A woman in Washington had to be extricated from her vehicle after she crashed while having a blood alcohol level that was five times the legal limit. That concentration level was so high that she was rushed to the hospital instead of being arrested for a DUI on the spot. In fact, we’re surprised she was able to get into her car in the first place.
Woman required jaws of life to be rescued from her car
On August 16 at around 6:00 p.m., an unnamed woman from Olalla had to be saved after being in a single-vehicle collision in Port Orchard, near the 5100 block of Long Lake Rd. SE, according to a post from the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office on its official Facebook page.
Images of her blue vehicle after the rescue shows that South Kitsap Fire and Rescue had to use jaws of life, a powerful hydraulic tool used by emergency personnel, to rip the top of the car off so they could free her. So much of the vehicle was removed that it might as well have been turned into a convertible.
Due to how intoxicated the woman was, she was swiftly taken to St. Anthony Medical Center where her blood was drawn. There it was discovered that her blood alcohol concentration was at 0.40. The typical legal limit for blood alcohol levels while driving across the United States is 0.08. To put that into context, it takes about 3 regular drinks over an hour for a woman to reach a 0.08 blood alcohol level, meaning that she had approximately 15 drinks before she got behind the wheel.
Doctors determined that the woman needed to be hospitalized for detoxification and further observation. She has not been charged yet, but information from the doctors will be forwarded to the Kitsap County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for further review.
Commenters were shocked that she was able to drive in the first place, with a few assuming that she had to be an alcoholic at the blood alcohol leve.
One said, “With a BAC that high, immediate hospitalization and alcohol detox with medication is required to avoid seizures.”
Another wrote, “How does a body stay awake long enough to get that drunk?”
