Man’s blood alcohol content too high for police to measure

8-year-old Levi B. Carter’s accomplishment is one that’s truly horrifying. KCRG ABC 9 News is reporting that the Iowa City, Iowa man was so intoxicated that when given a breath test, the breathalyzer wasn’t able to calculate it.

(KCRG)

The Iowa City Press Citizen writes that the police responded to a call from a woman who claimed to be Carter’s passenger at about 2am Friday morning. She told them he had driven off the road and hit a street sign. When the authorities arrived to Carter’s home they found him in his basement, “talking to people that were not there.” He wasn’t able to stand without holding himself up, and if you can believe it, “smelled strongly of alcohol.”

(iStock Photo)

Mr. Carter told police he had drank two Bud Lights. Two. He failed an eye test and was unable to complete any other field sobriety tests. When they administered the breathalyzer test, the Press Citizen writes he, “…provided a weak breath into a preliminary breath test and the last reading was .467 before the PBT just read ‘HI.’” Geez. I don’t think you will be surprised to find out he was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Matt Harvey (Johnson County Jail via WQAD)

This is not the only story of this nature to come out of Iowa this week. Just this past Thursday 40-year-old Chad Harvey blew .435 in the nearby city of North Liberty. WQAD News 8, which covered that story, pointed readers to breathalyzer information from Lifeloc Technologies, a company that, “…designs, engineers and manufactures precision fuel-cell based breath alcohol testing equipment.” On their site they discuss what happens with BAC’s at these levels.

Lifeloc writes that a BAC between .30 and .40 is, “Extremely life threatening. You have little comprehension of where you are. You may pass out suddenly and be difficult to awaken. Complete unconsciousness. Coma is possible. This is the level of surgical anesthesia. Death may occur,” and that, “Over 0.45 BAC death will occur in most people.” Carter and Harvey must be considered lucky to have survived not only driving while intoxicated, but to have survived the punishment they inflicted on their bodies.