If he went to the hospital, chances are they did do a tox screen, but unfortunately it's up to the officer that shows up at the crime to decide whether or not the person should have a police hold. If they do that, an officer has to stay with the patient until they are discharged and then they go to jail. This only happens in the worst of cases though and I'm not sure how they decide. They can also give someone a ticket and court date, but not arrest them. I took care of this one patient that was drunk and went the wrong way down the 705 in tacoma, hit two cars, and all she got was a ticket and a court date. I have no sympathy for drunk drivers, and I think our state is way too easy on them. I also don't have sympathy for people that hit and run, and especially people who hit people on bikes. Unfortunately though, unless there's a police hold and an officer with a patient, we can't legally call the police to let them know a patient is being discharged, because it's against the HIPPA privacy law. I know, because I tried on the lady I described above (I was so furious I asked my charge nurse to discharge her, because ethically I didn't feel that I could)! I would think if someone who was the victim wanted to press charges, they would contact the police headquarters where the event took place, but you'd probably have to hire an attorney.

-Jessica