Seventeen year old, Bella Hadid, got herself in a bit of L.A. trouble by receiving a DUI charge early Tuesday morning. Allegedly, Bella was driving on Pacific Coast Highway around 4 am when she blew through a stop sign and almost rear ended a L.A. Counties Sheriff’s patrol car. Reeking of alcohol, officers suspected the young lady was DUI. The aspiring model’s DUI breathalyzer results revealed a BAC level of .14, nearly twice the California legal DUI limit of .08. To make matters worse, Bella was driving on a suspended drivers license. She was arrested for DUI and was hauled off to jail.
Luckily, Bella’s parents came to her rescue. Reality TV star , Yolanda Foster, came to her daughter’s aid and bailed her out of jail. Former Dutch supermodel, Yolanda, is well-known for being one of the elite ladies on the hit show Beverly Hills Real Housewives. Sources also report that Grammy winner, David Foster, step dad to Bella, was also at the police station with his wife Yolanda.
In Washington, a minor DUI is considered a simple misdemeanor, similar to a negligent driving 1st degree. However, for a minor to be charged with a minor DUI the breath test or blood test results must be within a range of .02 to .07. If a minor had a breath test or blood draw above a .07 then the minor would be charged as an adult.
Based on Bella’s BAC results she will be charged as an adult for DUI. If California is similar to Washington, she could face up to a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail and a $5000 fine. Don’t forget the license suspension. In Washington, for a first time DUI offender with a breath test result under a .15 the license suspension would be for 90 days. The driver would be eligible to drive during the suspension period if they decided to apply for an ignition interlock license. To get this, the driver obviously would need to get an ignition interlock device installed.
Since, Bella’s license was already suspended her suspension period could last longer than 90 days depending on why her license was suspended in the first place. In Washington, if she was eligible to reinstate her license but just forgot to then it would be considered a Driving While License Suspended in the 3rd degree. If she was not eligible to reinstate her license she could be charged with driving while license suspended in the 2nd degree. In this case, her license will be suspended for an additional year, consecutive to any other suspension she is dealing with.
Good luck Bella, the next step now is to hire a reputable DUI lawyer to fight your case!
Written by DUI defense attorney, David O
Co-Written by Sarah Ann