As a heavy equipment operator, RVL knows just how important his commercial driving privileges are. He also knows full well how devastating a drunk driving conviction can be to a commercial driving career. He had heard plenty of stories over the years of commercial drivers never getting hired again with that awful stain on their record. RVL also never thought it would happen to him. At 51, he had gone years without even the slightest traffic violation. But a DUI charge can happen to just about anyone, even when you think you're being careful about how much you drink before driving. That was certainly the case with RVL. Out for a few beers after a hard week of work, RVL thought he was well in control when he left a tavern to drive home. A county sheriff's deputy thought differently. The deputy observed RVL speeding shortly after leaving the bar and pulled him over. He had RVL perform some field sobriety tests and a roadside breath test. RVL was arrested on the spot and taken to the local hospital for a blood test which produced a result over the legal limit. RVL couldn't believe it. How could this have happened to him?
Fortunately, a close family friend of RVL is a county prosecutor who has seen Dennis Melowski in action. This prosecutor urged RVL to give Dennis a call. He told RVL that if anyone could save his career, it was Dennis. RVL took his friend's advice and made the decision to hire Dennis. And things couldn't have turned out much better for RVL. Dennis was able to negotiate a fantastic resolution. The original drunk driving charges were dropped. Instead, RVL pled no contest to a drastically reduced charge of Inattentive Driving, which is a non-alcohol-related, minor traffic offense that involves no loss of license. RVL never lost his license for even a single day and was able to completely avoid the career-killing stigma of being a convicted drunk driver. He couldn't be happier.
