17-Year-Old Cleared By Court After DUI Blood Test Is Found To Be Negative

Savanna Hutchinson, a 17-year-old who had been charged with a felony DUI for an accident that occurred on May 7th 2019 resulting in the death of her friend Gayle Sellers has been released by a court in South Carolina after a blood test to ascertain her blood alcohol content level turned out to be negative.

Savanna was charged with a DUI following an accident which occurred in Greenville County in May involving her and her two friends in a Kia Sedan. According to the State Highway Patrol, the three people were not wearing any seat-belts when their vehicle ran from the road and rolled over before eventually crashing. Dayton Gayle Sellers- an 18-year-old friend of Savannah who was in the vehicle at the time of the accident died at the scene of the accident.

After the accident, Savannah and the other friend were taken to a local hospital and treated for various injuries before being released. Unfortunately, Gayle Sellers who was described as ‘the salt of the earth with a smile that would light up the room’ in her obituary died immediately due to multiple injuries of blunt force she got when she was partially ejected from the car during the accident.

According to Walt Wilkins a solicitor in the 13th Circuit, a judge dismissed the DUI charges on Savannah after a blood test conducted showed that she was free from any traces of drugs and alcohol. According to her attorney, Savannah has always denied being under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident. Further, her attorney claimed that while being questioned in hospital after the accident, the authorities did not give her a breathalyzer test as is standard practice in such situations.

However, according to solicitor Wilkins, Savannah is not yet out of the woods as she could still be charged by the authorities with reckless driving.

Here is a link to the full story.

If you’ve been charged with a DUI, contact The Bateman Law Firm today.

John C. Bateman Avatar

John C. Bateman

Attorney University of Richmond Law School, South Carolina State Bar

John C. Bateman is a Greenville, South Carolina DUI defense attorney, former Army JAG prosecutor, and Special Assistant United States Attorney who now serves on the Board of Directors of the DUI Defense Lawyers Association, of which he is a founding member. As an NHTSA-certified instructor in the DUI enforcement curriculum, John often has more training in DUI detection than the arresting officer, and he brings that expertise to every client's defense.

Areas of Expertise: DUI Defense, Boating Under the Influence, DUI License Consequences, CDL DUI, DUI Drugs, Out of State DUI, DUI Hit and Run, Drunk Driving Injury, Felony DUI, DUI Penalties, DUI Sentence Enhancements, DUI Field Sobriety Tests, Breath Testing, Underage DUI, Minor in Possession of Alcohol

Leave a Reply