BillsFever
07-19-2003, 08:12 PM
MONROE, La. (AP) -- A city judge found former Louisiana-Monroe football coach Mike Collins innocent of a drunk driving charge stemming from the April crash of Collins' car into a Monroe home.
Collins was found guilty of careless operation of a vehicle, fined $175 and placed on three months of supervised probation.
City Judge Daryl Blue announced his verdict Friday morning. The non-jury trial had ended Wednesday. Defense lawyers had argued that Collins had fallen asleep at the wheel because he suffered form sleep apnea.
Collins resigned as head coach of Louisiana-Monroe after the accident. He had taken over the team last season.
During closing arguments, city prosecutor Carlton Parhms said defense claims that Collins was suffering from undiagnosed sleep apnea were an attempt to "skew" the differences between that disease and narcolepsy, which causes a person to fall asleep unexpectedly. Parhms also said regardless of Collins' diagnosis by a doctor -- which was made after Collins' arrest -- Collins should be held responsible for drinking and driving.
"He makes a conscious decision to drink knowing he may have a problem," Parhms said.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/college/news/2003/07/18/collins_trial_ap/
Collins was found guilty of careless operation of a vehicle, fined $175 and placed on three months of supervised probation.
City Judge Daryl Blue announced his verdict Friday morning. The non-jury trial had ended Wednesday. Defense lawyers had argued that Collins had fallen asleep at the wheel because he suffered form sleep apnea.
Collins resigned as head coach of Louisiana-Monroe after the accident. He had taken over the team last season.
During closing arguments, city prosecutor Carlton Parhms said defense claims that Collins was suffering from undiagnosed sleep apnea were an attempt to "skew" the differences between that disease and narcolepsy, which causes a person to fall asleep unexpectedly. Parhms also said regardless of Collins' diagnosis by a doctor -- which was made after Collins' arrest -- Collins should be held responsible for drinking and driving.
"He makes a conscious decision to drink knowing he may have a problem," Parhms said.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/college/news/2003/07/18/collins_trial_ap/