Driver in Triple-Fatal Crash Says Blood Test Was Illegal
BAR HARBOR, Maine (AP) — A New Jersey man charged with manslaughter in a crash that killed three passengers in Maine's Acadia National Park says the state didn't have the right to test his blood.
The Portland Press Herald reports that a motion filed Thursday on behalf of Praneeth Manubolu argues that a state-mandated blood test shouldn't have been taken because the Aug. 31 crash took place on federal land.
Maine law requires a blood draw for any driver in an accident with serious injury or death. Court documents show officers arranged the blood draw at a hospital even though Manubolu did not consent.
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court is currently considering an appeal in a separate case that questions the constitutionality of the state law. The federal prosecutor's office in Maine declined to comment.