Buford v. State

The trial court did not err in finding that the implied consent notice was adequate under OCGA § 40-5-67.1 b, where the semi-conscious defendant was secured to a board in a hospital room with tubes attached to his body at the time the officer notified the defendant he would be charged with DUI.

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On appeal from his conviction for DUI and the trial court’s previous denial of his motion to suppress positive blood-alcohol results, Robert Buford argues that the results should have been suppressed because he was neither under arrest nor unconscious when the tests were taken. We find no error and affirm. On review from the denial of a motion to suppress, we consider all the evidence of record, including evidence introduced at trial. Jackson v. State , 280 Ga. App. 716 634 SE2d 846 2006. Where the evidence at a hearing on a motion to suppress is uncontroverted and no question of credibility is presented, we review the trial court’s application of the law to these undisputed facts de novo. Vansant v. State , 264 Ga. 319, 320 1 443 SE2d 474 1994. As to questions of fact and credibility, however, we construe the evidence in favor of the trial court’s findings and judgment, which must be accepted unless clearly erroneous. Tate v. State , 264 Ga. 53, 54 1 440 SE2d 646 1994.

So viewed, the record shows that on the evening of Thursday, June 18, 2009, Buford lost control of the car he was driving in Cherokee County. The car flipped over and hit a tree. Emergency personnel transported Buford by helicopter to Grady Memorial Hospital and advised the trooper at the scene that Buford smelled of alcohol. The trooper, who assumed from the helicopter transport that Buford’s condition was “pretty serious,” drove to Grady, where hospital personnel told him that Buford was conscious.

Buford v. State

The trial court did not err in finding that the implied consent notice was adequate under OCGA § 40-5-67.1 b, where the semi-conscious defendant was secured to a board in a hospital room with tubes attached to his body at the time the officer notified the defendant he would be charged with DUI.

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