Man Charged for Death of Pedestrian for Driving While High

In February, Jan Misitis was struck by a car while crossing the street in the city of Palm Bay located in Brevard County.  He was brought to the hospital, where he died of his injuries.  At the scene, police believed that the person who was driving the car that struck Misitis was acting like he was under the influence of drugs.  As a result, a blood test was taken and came back some time later showing that there was a high presence of marijuana in the driver’s system.  The driver, Aymen Asker of Palm Beach, was charged with vehicular homicide, DUI manslaughter and DUI with serious bodily harm on May 15 and was arrested.

Being under the influence of any sort of drug, even one that would normally be legal, is enough to be charged with driving under the influence or a related crime if someone is involved in an accident or is pulled over by police.  While it may be more difficult to prove at the scene that someone is under the influence of a drug such as marijuana, it is still very possible, meaning that such arrests are common.

There is pretty advanced technology when it comes to determining blood alcohol content to determine if someone is driving under the influence.  The law is also quite developed when it comes to determining what is considered impaired when it comes to consumption of alcohol with .08 determined to be an indicator of being impaired.  When it comes to other drugs, such as marijuana or prescription drugs, there is obviously not a road side breath test that can determine just how high someone is.  Police have to find another way.

Under Florida law, to prove someone is under the influence of drugs while driving, police have to use a combination of blood or urine tests along with field observations.  If someone is acting high at the scene, they will probably be required to take a test to determine if they have been using drugs.  In order to charge someone for using marijuana and driving, there has to be a combination of the person acting impaired along with the presence of marijuana in their system to an extent where it shows recent use.

There are blood or urine tests for just about every kind of drug or other chemical that can be used to get high or would impair driving.  If someone is suspected of driving under the influence, they will be tested for what drug they are suspected of using.  Simply not posting a positive breathalyzer result will not be enough to walk away from a DUI charge if someone is driving while under the influence.