DUI Charge Results from Facebook Post

Recently, Jason Cox-Brown, an Oregon teenage driver hit another car while driving drunk. Since it was early morning on New Year’s Day, he fled the scene, probably thinking he was going to get away it. He then proceeded to post a status update on Facebook to share with over 600 of his closest Facebook friends.  His post said:

“Drivin’ drunk…classic 😉 but to whoever’s vehicle I hit I am sorry. :P.

Unfortunately for this teen, a couple of friends were concerned about his actions and independently forwarded his post to the local police who have an active social media presence on Facebook. The police investigated then later arrested him at his house. Since the police could not prove he was drunk at the time he hit the other car, he was arrested for failure to perform the duties of a driver for leaving the scene.

Although this teen was not arrested for drunk driving, he admitted that he was drunk at the time he hit another car. Since the police learned of this incident after the hit and run occurred, they were not able to test his blood alcohol content or BAC at the time of the incident. What the police could do, however, is piece together what happened based on the damage to both his vehicle and the vehicle he hit which included debris found at the site of the incident.

Based on this physical evidence, the teen was arrested for not performing  the duties of a driver by fleeing the scene. If this teen had not posted on Facebook, it is unlikely he would have been arrested and charged, but since Facebook is such a public forum, he was arrested soon after the incident and now has to face the consequences.

If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, do not post anything to Facebook or other social media. The police are actively checking these media and can use it as the basis for an investigation. Anything you post on Facebook can potentially be viewed by anyone. In this case, the post was forwarded to the police.

Instead, contact a reputable San Jose DUI attorney immediately to confidentially discuss the circumstances of your case. Once you are informed, you and your attorney can plan the best case scenario to keep you out of jail.