Ruggs sentenced to 3-10 years

[rcaido]

Im also curious how long it took for them to do the actual blood test. Geno got pulled over around 2am. He got release 9:30am. That's about 7 and 1/2 hrs in between. They say that it drops between .015 an hr. They need to get a warrant for a blood test which could take at least half an hour or longer. So we are looking at least minimum an hour and 1/2 has gone by before the blood test. .038 + .022= .06 BAC. Then you add that he had to be restrain, so who knows how long he actually got the blood test. Even the Seahawks director of team security was there to try to calm him down. .05 is already considered impairment and should not even drive. Which is very dangerous and to top it off you're driving almost 100mph.

On another data point not mention is this...
“It should be noted that Mr. Smith’s blood samples were in a refrigerator that failed at the Washington State Crime Lab,” the prosecutor’s office’s statement said. “Although there is no reasonable doubt to the accuracy of the results, there would likely be litigation related to the handling of his blood samples.”

So with that, they probably couldn't even use the .038 as a starting base.

 

[RiverDog]

Im also curious how long it took for them to do the actual blood test. Geno got pulled over around 2am. He got release 9:30am. That's about 7 and 1/2 hrs in between. They say that it drops between .015 an hr. They need to get a warrant for a blood test which could take at least half an hour or longer. So we are looking at least minimum an hour and 1/2 has gone by before the blood test. .038 + .022= .06 BAC. Then you add that he had to be restrain, so who knows how long he actually got the blood test. Even the Seahawks director of team security was there to try to calm him down. .05 is already considered impairment and should not even drive. Which is very dangerous and to top it off you're driving almost 100mph.

On another data point not mention is this...
“It should be noted that Mr. Smith’s blood samples were in a refrigerator that failed at the Washington State Crime Lab,” the prosecutor’s office’s statement said. “Although there is no reasonable doubt to the accuracy of the results, there would likely be litigation related to the handling of his blood samples.”

So with that, they probably couldn't even use the .038 as a starting base.

I'm not a doctor, but I would imagine that a well-conditioned athlete such as Geno burns alcohol at a faster rate than the average Joe.

FYI Utah's threshold for DUI is .05. For truck drivers, it's .04.

 

[olyfan63]

I'm not a doctor, but I would imagine that a well-conditioned athlete such as Geno burns alcohol at a faster rate than the average Joe.

FYI Utah's threshold for DUI is .05. For truck drivers, it's .04.

I'm not sure if or how an athletic body would "sober up" faster than a sedentary body. I have noticed, when donating blood, that some people are "fast pumpers" who fill the pint blood bag quickly, say, 5 minutes, while others are "slow pumpers", say, 15 minutes. However... the article below says that we all metabolize alcohol out of our system at the same rate, .016 BAC per hour, and that this is a function of our liver and enzymes, implying no difference between "fast pumpers" and "slow pumpers". I can't tell if it's anti-drinking "health propaganda", that lumps everyone together for narrative purposes, but on the surface it seems reasonable.

https://www.drinkfox.com/information/alcohol-metabolism
"Since your body (and every body) metabolizes alcohol at 0.016% per hour, it will take 10 hours for a person with a BAC or 0.016 to reach a BAC of 0.00."

So if it took 2 hours before the blood draw, Geno's .038 would translate to .070 at the time he was stopped, still just below the .08 DUI threshold. I would *guess* that the excessive speed PLUS alcohol level could allow for enhanced charges (e.g., felony-level "Reckless Driving" charges) but clearly that didn't happen here, and WA may not have such a law.

 

[RiverDog]

I'm not sure if or how an athletic body would "sober up" faster than a sedentary body. I have noticed, when donating blood, that some people are "fast pumpers" who fill the pint blood bag quickly, say, 5 minutes, while others are "slow pumpers", say, 15 minutes. However... the article below says that we all metabolize alcohol out of our system at the same rate, .016 BAC per hour, and that this is a function of our liver and enzymes, implying no difference between "fast pumpers" and "slow pumpers". I can't tell if it's anti-drinking "health propaganda", that lumps everyone together for narrative purposes, but on the surface it seems reasonable.

https://www.drinkfox.com/information/alcohol-metabolism
"Since your body (and every body) metabolizes alcohol at 0.016% per hour, it will take 10 hours for a person with a BAC or 0.016 to reach a BAC of 0.00."

So if it took 2 hours before the blood draw, Geno's .038 would translate to .070 at the time he was stopped, still just below the .08 DUI threshold. I would *guess* that the excessive speed PLUS alcohol level could allow for enhanced charges (e.g., felony-level "Reckless Driving" charges) but clearly that didn't happen here, and WA may not have such a law.

I pretty much agree. I've seen burn rates quoted as high as .018 and as low as .015. Point is that had Geno taken the test immediately, he probably would have just barely passed it, and had it been Utah, he almost certainly would have failed.

As far as WA's reckless driving law, here's the definition:

(1) Any person who drives any vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty of reckless driving. Violation of the provisions of this section is a gross misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to three hundred sixty-four days and by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars.

There are no kickers in the law that would elevate speeding to reckless driving, but I think there's a general rule of thumb that driving 50%+ over the posted speed limit (40 in a 25, 45 in a 30, 75 in a 50, 90 in a 60, etc.) makes it subject to reckless driving. Add in the presence of alcohol and marijuana, it seems a little odd that they wouldn't have pursued a reckless driving charge. But, if there are cases with similar circumstances that they didn't pursue, then I'm good with it.

 

[olyfan63]

I pretty much agree. I've seen burn rates quoted as high as .018 and as low as .015. Point is that had Geno taken the test immediately, he probably would have just barely passed it, and had it been Utah, he almost certainly would have failed.

As far as WA's reckless driving law, here's the definition:

(1) Any person who drives any vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty of reckless driving. Violation of the provisions of this section is a gross misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to three hundred sixty-four days and by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars.

There are no kickers in the law that would elevate speeding to reckless driving, but I think there's a general rule of thumb that driving 50%+ over the posted speed limit (40 in a 25, 45 in a 30, 75 in a 50, 90 in a 60, etc.) makes it subject to reckless driving. Add in the presence of alcohol and marijuana, it seems a little odd that they wouldn't have pursued a reckless driving charge. But, if there are cases with similar circumstances that they didn't pursue, then I'm good with it.

Under the 50% over rule, I'd have sure been rung up for 40 in a 25 dozens of times. I have been nabbed for ordinary speeding a small handful of times in my WA driving career.
Here's hoping Geno has re-evaluated the wisdom of driving at high speeds after drinking.

 

[RiverDog]

Under the 50% over rule, I'd have sure been rung up for 40 in a 25 dozens of times. I have been nabbed for ordinary speeding a small handful of times in my WA driving career.
Here's hoping Geno has re-evaluated the wisdom of driving at high speeds after drinking.

Depends on the circumstances. All I'm saying is that it's subject to being considered reckless driving.

I was disappointed that Geno didn't come out and at least apologize for his behavior and take some kind of responsibility for his actions. What does he expect when he's driving 94 mph at 2am?