Police Issues Passenger DUI

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

A Pennsylvania man is fighting a DUI charge, on the grounds that he was in the passenger's seat.

A state trooper said Derek Pittman had reached over and was steering the car while the driver was taking a bite of a sandwich that he was holding in both hands. The trooper said the car was weaving on the road before he pulled it over. He said he then noticed a strong odor of alcohol coming from the car and saw the driver holding a large sandwich with both hands. So he gave the passenger a field sobriety test and he failed.

The trooper said the alcohol odor wasn't coming from the driver; it was coming from the passenger. Records show that when the trooper asked the driver why the car was swerving, the passenger leaned across the front seat and told the trooper it was his fault because he had briefly held onto the steering wheel while his friend was taking a bite of his sandwich.

Police said the driver passed a breath test, but the passenger had a blood-alcohol content nearly three times the legal limit for driving in Pennsylvania.