Underage Citation, help!

[yokom]

What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania

I had been drinking and hit my head in my dorm room, and my friends called 911 to get an ambulance to take me to the hospital. Along with the ambulance, a university cop showed up. To my knowledge he did not administer a breathalizer, but merely observed me being "heavily intoxicated". He was there when I was on the stretcher and being put into the ambulance.

I met with him today at his request, and he said he is issuing an underage citation, that i'll be able to plead guilty/not-guilty, that my parents will be notified etc. He made clear it was a "summary offense" and not a misdemeanor. He also said I could take classes to expunge it from my record.

I was under the impression, however, that if the authorities are called for medical assistance, as I was (I ended up getting stitches), that the person could escape an underage drinking citation. If I am found guilty, I won't be able to go to work this summer and cannot afford college.

Can I be issued a citation if I needed medical attention?

[Ohiogal]

Originally Posted by yokom

What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania

I had been drinking and hit my head in my dorm room, and my friends called 911 to get an ambulance to take me to the hospital. Along with the ambulance, a university cop showed up. To my knowledge he did not administer a breathalizer, but merely observed me being "heavily intoxicated". He was there when I was on the stretcher and being put into the ambulance.

I met with him today at his request, and he said he is issuing an underage citation, that i'll be able to plead guilty/not-guilty, that my parents will be notified etc. He made clear it was a "summary offense" and not a misdemeanor. He also said I could take classes to expunge it from my record.

I was under the impression, however, that if the authorities are called for medical assistance, as I was (I ended up getting stitches), that the person could escape an underage drinking citation. If I am found guilty, I won't be able to go to work this summer and cannot afford college.

Can I be issued a citation if I needed medical attention?

yes you can.

[yokom]

How might that affect a driver's license if the citation didn't involve a car.

[Waterloofun]

Yes you can recieve a citation at that time. It works the same way as in DUI related car accidents. One way out of the ticket possibly is to see whether or not the hospital, EMTs, or anyone at all, withdrew your blood for testing of the presence of alcohol or any other illicit drug. It not, there is no legal way of knowing whether or not you were actually drinking. If there is not a blood sample or a qualifying breath test (performed at the jail) then you might be off. For all they know, you could have had a bad reaction to a medication that you were taking and lost your balance, striking your head. If there is a blood test, plead guilty and beg the judge to let you into the classes needed to expunge this from your record. You should have time to take care of the classes in time for summer assuming you can get this handled quickly.

[Ohiogal]

Originally Posted by Waterloofun

Yes you can recieve a citation at that time. It works the same way as in DUI related car accidents. One way out of the ticket possibly is to see whether or not the hospital, EMTs, or anyone at all, withdrew your blood for testing of the presence of alcohol or any other illicit drug. It not, there is no legal way of knowing whether or not you were actually drinking. If there is not a blood sample or a qualifying breath test (performed at the jail) then you might be off. For all they know, you could have had a bad reaction to a medication that you were taking and lost your balance, striking your head. If there is a blood test, plead guilty and beg the judge to let you into the classes needed to expunge this from your record. You should have time to take care of the classes in time for summer assuming you can get this handled quickly.

That is assuming that she can still go to classes. PA state colleges were all dry campuses (so says the former PA undergrad0. Students were expelled from campus for being drunk while on campus and if they were under age -- that is a double whammy.

[ecmst12]

When was this? I went to U of Pitt (class of '99) and this was definitely not the case. I'm also 90% sure it's not the case at Penn State. Drinking on campus was perfectly fine if you were 21....of course, most people have moved off campus by that time, so most people living in the dorms are underage, but still, for the few people it mattered for, it was allowed.

And besides, there are lots of private colleges here, how do you know OP goes to a state school?