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Drunk-to-keep-warm defense works for DWI suspect

Says he was not intoxicated while driving, but that he was by the time emergency workers arrived more than two hours later

Associated Press

JACKSON, Mo. — A southeast Missouri man has been acquitted of drunk driving after claiming that he consumed alcohol to keep warm after — but not before — he lost control of his vehicle on an icy road.

Thomas Drummond of Jackson told a court that he had been driving home after a night out with friends last February when his vehicle veered off the slick highway and into a culvert. Drummond says he was not intoxicated while driving, but that he was by the time emergency workers arrived more than two hours later.

The Southeast Missourian reports a jury acquitted Drummond last week.

Defense attorney Stephen Wilson says it was a set of facts you don’t see every day.