NO. PD-0276-22
A driver was located asleep at the wheel in a school pick up line, did the officer have sufficient probable cause to say she operated the motor vehicle while intoxicated with no wheel witness? Yes.
Opinion:
HERVEY, J., delivered the unanimous opinion of the Court.
This is a probable cause case. Jennifer Aileen Espinosa, Appellee, was found in
her parked vehicle in a school pickup line at an elementary school just before school was
dismissed. The engine was running, and she was asleep at the wheel. It was later
discovered that she was intoxicated. Appellee told the investigating officer that she had
not been drinking and was on her way to work, but told an eyewitness that she was on her
way to a nearby middle school. The investigating officer arrested Appellee for DWI.
Appellee filed a motion to suppress, arguing that the officer did not have probable
cause. The trial court granted the motion, and the court of appeals affirmed the ruling of
the trial court. We granted review and will reverse the judgment of the court of appeals,
vacate the ruling of the trial court, and remand the case to the trial court for further
proceedings.