The Driving Under Influence charges against a 35-year-old school teacher was dismissed by the judge of Hamburg, New York, after being presented with sufficient medical evidence that the woman is suffering from 'Auto Brewery Syndrome' -- a rare intestinal disorder that turns ordinary foods and beverages into alcohol inside the body.
In a report from CNN, attorney Joseph Marusak, the defendant's attorney, told the news team that he never heard of the auto-brewery syndrome prior to this case, but that he knew something was off when "the hospital police took the woman and wanted to release her immediately because she wasn't exhibiting any symptoms."
Buffalo News reported that Hamburg Police Chief, Gregory G. Wickett, and his officers were confident that they made the right move in getting the woman off the road and charging her with DUI.
"She was highly intoxicated, as shown by the Breathalyzer. Our officers did the right thing in getting her off the road," Wickett said. "Whether she has a medical issue that caused it is not for me to decide."
The BAC of the woman taken by the Breathalyzer during the arrest was at .33, while the blood test administered in the Erie County Medical Center has registered a .30. The legal threshold of drunkenness in New York is 0.08.
Barbara Cordell, Dean of Nursing at Panola College, and who has been studying the auto-brewing syndrome for years, said that people suffering from the auto-brewing syndrome can still function even if they have alcohol levels at 0.30 and 0.40.
"I'm in touch with about 30 people who believe they have this same syndrome, about 10 of them are diagnosed with it," said Cordell. "They can function at alcohol levels such as 0.30 and 0.40, when the average person would be comatose or dying. Part of the mystery of this syndrome is how they can have these extremely high levels and still be walking around and talking."
