In an apparent attempt to avoid arrest, a 28-year-old man suspected of DUI made a bold escape from police recently when he dove into the sea and swam away. Apparently, the young man was pulled over by police while driving a pick-up truck at about 2:30 a.m. in Pacific Beach, just north of San Diego.

The temperature of the water in that area in recent weeks has been in the mid-to-high 50s. Reportedly, the young man was wearing jeans and a T-shirt when he drove the truck into the ocean, leapt out of the vehicle and swam out of sight.

However, a friend of the young man remained in the truck and disclosed the suspect's name and all the necessary information for the police to contact him should he emerge from the ocean.

Lifeguards were apparently summoned to help locate the man, and when the sun rose, the Coast Guard joined in the search using a helicopter.

The young man's family phoned police several hours later and said that he had been in contact with them, and the family indicated that the young man would eventually turn himself in to police.

While an elaborate escape from police will not guarantee that a person won't be charged with DUI, there still remain some important questions with regard to this case. How will police now determine the young man was, in fact, intoxicated? Presumably, neither a breath test nor a field sobriety test was administered at the scene. Local news reports don't offer many details as to why police even pulled over the driver in the first place. Was he even aware that police were trying to pull him over, or was his truck already being driven into the ocean?

There may be a humorous aspect to these questions, but they are indeed serious. Anyone who is accused of DUI in California should explore all the available options for mounting a strong and meaningful defense against the charges. Police write their reports with a view toward conviction, and defendants in DUI cases deserve experienced and sympathetic representation with a view toward proving innocence.

Source: AFP, "US driver swims off to escape arrest," Jan. 10, 2012