Cop Who Ran Down Woman Tested at Twice Legal Alcohol Limit Hours After Accident

Wow: looks like that cop who hit 67-year-old Drane Nikac with his car and killed her last week, Detective Kevin Spellman, wasn't just drunk at the time -- he was rip-stinkin' drunk: Despite the fact that he, and perhaps cooperative colleagues, caused authorities to wait five and a half hours to blood-test him for alcohol after the accident, the result shows he was at more than twice the legal limit -- 0.21 percent, versus 0.08. (Imagine being poured into bed at 2 a.m., waking up at 7:30 a.m., and finding yourself still drunk)...

Commissioner Kelly says it normally takes seven hours to get a warrant for tests in cases in which a motorist is not cooperative, and has convened a committee to see about speeding things up. Jurisdictions such as Texas have get-tough laws permitting authorities to draw blood in suspected DWI cases even without a warrant, but in more civil-liberties-conscious like ours such a law may be harder to push through.

Spellman is charged with DWI, vehicular homicide and criminally negligent homicide. In 1996 he drove into a car, injuring its 13-year-old passenger, though no evidence of DWI is recorded; his insurance covered the damages.