Driver in Tulsa DUI Hit-and-Run Placed on Immigration Hold

They say that honesty is the best policy, but sometimes, it is better to just keep your mouth shut. This is certainly the case when talking to police aboutpossible involvement in a crime, and definitely the case if you are pulled over on suspicion of DUI and the officer asks you how much you have hadto drink. Unless the answer is zero, you should probably just invoke your right to remain silent.

It appears that the suspect in Tulsa hit and run accident didn't get the memo.

Police say Jose Francisco Rodriguez-Nieto, 23, rear-ended another vehicle in east Tulsa Saturday, causing the driver of the other vehicle to suffer a neckinjury. Rodriguez-Nieto allegedly left the scene, but police were able to identify him as a suspect later.

When they questioned him, police say, he had the classic symptoms of being under the influence: "red, watery eyes, slurred speech and [the smell] of alcohol."Police say that the driver also had an open container of beer in his vehicle.

Police interviewed Rodriguez-Nieto, who does not speak English, with the assistance of a translator. When questioned about how much he had to drink priorto the accident, he allegedly told the translator that he had drunk ten beers.

Tulsa County Jail records list the suspect's height and weight as 5'1" and 150 pounds. A BAC calculatorestimates show that a male of that weight would be well above the legal limit for per se impairment (0.08 percent) even if those ten beerswere consumed over a span of 10 hours.

The hit and run suspect was arrested on several complaints, including driving too fast for conditions, hit and run involving a personal injury accident,DUI causing an injury accident, and driving without a license. Although a Tulsa County judge set bond for each of the above listed complaints, including$10,000 bond for the hit and run, Rodriguez-Nieto was placed under an immigration hold.

In general, a first offense of DUI is a misdemeanor, but causing an injury accident--particularly a hit-and-run injury accident--can quickly elevate thecharges and potential penalties.

According to state law (47 O.S. � 11-904) penalties for causing apersonal injury accident while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs include the following:

• First offense - misdemeanor; 90 days to one year in jail; up to $2,500 fine
• Second or subsequent offense - felony; one to five years in prison; up to $5,000 fine
• Great bodily injury - felony; one to 10 years in prison; up to $5,000 fine; "Great bodily injury" is defined as "bodily injury which creates a substantialrisk of death or which causes serious, permanent disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ."

According to 47 O.S. � 10-102 through 10-103, hit and run accidents are punished in the following manner:

• Failure to stop at an accident involving nonfatal injury is a felony punishable by 10 days to two years in prison and a fine ranging from $50 to $1,000.
• Failure to stop at an accident resulting in death is a felony punishable by one to 10 years in prison and a fine ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.
• Failure to stop at an accident involving property damage only is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of one year in jail and a fine of $500.