Indiana Man Charged in Head-on Collision Injured Two Children, Police Say

An Indiana man is facing serious charges after two juveniles were sent to the hospital following a head-on collision in New Albany. 29-year-old Billy Wilson was driving northbound when he crossed the divider and collided head-on with another vehicle. There were two juveniles in the vehicle not being driven by Wilson and both of them were taken to the hospital. 

Wilson was also injured in the crash and, after initially refusing medical attention, was taken to the hospital for evaluation. He is facing charges of OWI, attempted battery on an officer, and disorderly conduct. Police believe that drugs and alcohol were a factor, but the results of those tests are still pending. Wilson could be facing more charges.

Understanding the Charges

Wilson will be charged with OWI and, pending the results of his chemical tests that were administered at the hospital, will be convicted. Since the crash involved a head-on collision and Wilson was injured in the crash, there is little chance that field sobriety tests would hold up. Worse still, breathalyzer tests cannot determine if there are drugs in his system. 

Hospital staff is permitted to run a drug panel on an individual at the time of arrest, but this drug panel must be separate from a drug panel used for the purposes of determining if any medications the hospital will be giving you will interfere with anything you’re already on. This is due to privacy concerns of the Fourth Amendment and HIPAA standards that protect patients’ privacy.

If an officer wants to subpoena a blood sample taken from the hospital, they require a warrant to do so. This blood is then sent to a crime lab for testing. The defendant then has the option of contesting the evidence via a Franks Hearing. In that case, two separate warrants must be issued. One to seize the blood samples and another to search the blood samples for drugs. 

Prosecutors generally rely on notations within the defendant’s chart to make their case. As an example, a patient’s chart might show a BAC that is over the legal limit. In that case, the prosecutor can subpoena the medical records for use at trial. Your defense attorney can then object to the subpoena which would trigger a “Hunter Hearing.” Your attorney can then argue for why the subpoena is illegal or invalid. Even in cases where the prosecution ends up with the medical records, your attorney can prevent that information from being recorded into evidence for the purpose of your trial.

Talk to a Fort Wayne DUI/OWI Attorney

If you are being charged with DUI in Fort Wayne, Indiana, call the attorneys at The Bellinger Law Office today to learn more about how we can help.