Crime & Safety
Charges Dropped for FAA's Babbitt
Judge says Fairfax officer had no reason to pull over Babbitt, who was charged with driving while intoxicated last year.
A judge dismissed drunken driving charges against the former Federal Aviation Administration chief Thursday, according to The Washington Post.
The Post reports that Fairfax City General District Court Judge Ian O’Flaherty dropped the case after watching video of the Fairfax City traffic stop. In it, Reston resident Randy Babbitt makes a left hand turn off of southbound Lee Highway.
"In the process, Babbitt crossed double yellow lines and a northbound lane, but he did not drive on the wrong side of the road as Fairfax City Officer Mike Morris alleged in the criminal complaint."
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The judge also considered a breathalyzer reading of .007, just under the state's legal limit. He did not consider later breathalyzer results that put Babbitt over the legal limit.
O'Flaherty ended the case saying that the officer did not have significant reason to pull Babbitt over.
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Babbitt's case went public in December. He resigned from the FAA in the aftermath of his arrest.
Read the full story here.
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