“It’s bad enough when your identity is stolen,” a Denver TV station report begins. But how much worse is it when the person is arrested for DUI while using your name? And how much worse is all of that when the person allegedly responsible is your own mother?
The story comes from an Arapahoe County woman who said her mother was pulled over by a Colorado trooper near the intersection of South Parker Road and East Florida Avenue. Because the mom reportedly had no driver’s license, she gave the officer her daughter’s name and birth date before she was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Of course, once a person has claimed someone else’s identity, they tend to try to stick to their story. So it was with this mother, who was booked into jail under her child’s name.
All of this was unbeknownst to the daughter, who later found out that something was very much amiss when she was pulled over in a routine traffic stop. The officer informed her that her driver’s license had been suspended and that there was an arrest warrant out for her for DUI.
“I kept saying I didn’t commit the crime, I am innocent, but no one would listen,” the daughter told the TV station reporter.
Eventually, the prosecutor realized a mistake had been made and charges were dropped against the daughter. Unfortunately, that didn’t solve all her problems: the DMV refused to reinstate her license and said the arrest is still on her driving record.
Months of fruitless pleading with the DMV followed. After the TV station got involved to help the woman, the DMV grudgingly acknowledged that “it is possible that (the DMV) may make a mistake…”
The department reinstated her license two days later.
In similar cases, it might make more sense to spare yourself months of frustration of dealing with DMV bureaucrats and instead discuss your legal options with a Denver DUI defense attorney experienced in resolving DMV disputes.