Summary
holding that there was probable cause to arrest the defendant for driving while intoxicated when he was found unconscious in his automobile after an accident
Summary of this case from Luck v. Westchester Med. Ctr.Opinion
Argued September 21, 1999
October 28, 1999
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the County Court, Orange County (Pano Z. Patsalos, J.).
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.
The County Court correctly denied that branch of the defendant's omnibus motion which was to suppress the results of a blood alcohol test. The police found the defendant unconscious in his automobile following an automobile accident. The County Court properly held that the defendant impliedly consented to have his blood withdrawn, as the People established probable cause to arrest the defendant for driving while intoxicated. The determination by the police to refrain from arresting the defendant does not compel a different result, because arresting him would have been an "empty gesture" due to the defendant's physical condition (People v. Goodell, 79 N.Y.2d 869, 871 ). Furthermore, the court properly admitted the expert testimony of a toxicologist to establish that an anticoagulant and preservatives had been added to the defendant's blood sample (see, People v. Jones, 73 N.Y.2d 427, 430 ). The defendant's objections went to the weight, rather than the admissibility, of the evidence (see,People v. Scalzi, 102 A.D.2d 952, 953 ).
S. MILLER, J.P., RITTER, FLORIO, and H. MILLER, JJ., concur.