Woman blows 19 times over blood alcohol limit

The Daily Telegraph (Australia) ^ | December 2, 2009 | News Wire

[UAConservative]

A woman in Canberra blew a .385 yesterday, one of the highest ever recorded. BAC numbers of .40 are supposed to mean death. Read the linked article for more information.

[Karma Police]

she blew it.

[rdl6989]

No way! And she wasn’t comatose?

[UAConservative]

She was in a fender-bender, so I must assume that she was conscious. I’m with you, though; given the numbers, she should’ve been on the border of life and death!

[OldDeckHand]

BAC numbers of .40 are supposed to mean death

That's certain death. People can succumb to the fatal effects of alcohol poisoning well before that. Low to mid three's can put you into a COMA. The highest reading I've ever seen for a driver was .26 or .27. I'm dubious .385 is accurate.

[Liberty Valance]

Dang'it! Just let her sleep it off ... you know, in a another life
it could'a been you!

*<[;o)~~ Merry Christmas!

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

I once had a girlfriend who was an incredibly dedicated alcoholic. She once got popped for DUI and blew .48. Beyond fatal.

[GnuHere]

That probably means her BAC hasn’t dropped below 0.3 for years. It’s her milieu, so she’s not dead.

[plinyelder]

[OldDeckHand]

"She once got popped for DUI and blew .48. Beyond fatal."

Did she have pointy canine teeth and avoid direct sunlight & garlic?

[happinesswithoutpeace]

Omg

[happinesswithoutpeace]

tl;dr

[freedumb2003]

I am trying not to look, but that is a freaking hilarious picture.

[AlaskaErik]

I once booked in a woman who was at .350 on the Datamaster and she was walking and talking better than most people do when sober. I almost didn't believe it myself. I regularly see people who are over .30, but normally they tend to act like they're drunk.

[Defiant]

Does that mean the limit in Australia is only .02? I guess driving home after one beer is illegal.

[60Gunner]

That's nothing. We see that level on an almost routine basis. Worst I saw (so far) was .622 by blood draw (not by breathalyzer, which can read false highs if the patient still has alcohol residue in the mouth), and the patient went into DTs at .535! (Time to call for IV Everclear, STAT!)

Our regional trauma center in downtown Seattle has the record by a long shot, a patient who had a BAC (by blood draw) of .800! And still alive, at that.

[fireman15]

When our local jail gets someone with a super high reading like that, we are called down to evaluate them. A couple weeks ago we went to a woman who blew around .320 and she was still talking and walking. She was an alcohilic, but as another poster stated these readings can be thrown off by a number of factors. I was skeptical of the number, but we sent her to the hospital anyway because if she had passed out and choked on her own vomit, I would most likely be waiving goodbye to my chosen career.

[Slings and Arrows]

Hey, 60Gunner! Glad to see you’re still around; I really look forward to your ER stories.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Far from it, she was a great gal, very smart, very sexy, but with this single flaw which I could not handle. She would get up at 4 am and drink a whole fifth of vodka, she could probably drink any three people I know under the table. She was probably one of those alcoholics who has about twice the legal limit in her bloodstream at all times and just lives their whole life that way. Ultimately, she turned herself around very well, but she simply could not live in Los Angeles with all the hoo-hah, and moved back her home town and completely quit drinking.

[Doogle]

...????...tie a wick to her head and make her an eternal flame