The Associated Press
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — A jury was unable to reach a verdict in the drunken driving case of a New York City firefighter who claimed lung damage caused by his exposure to dust on Sept. 11, 2001, led to an inaccurate breath test.
Windham County Deputy State’s Attorney Nathaniel Seeley said after the judge dismissed the case Thursday that he would retry the firefighter.
Rolf W. Hettinger, 50, of Amity Harbor, N.Y., was stopped in Wilmington on Dec. 4, 2004. He gave a breath sample at the Wilmington Police Department that showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.087 percent, just above the legal limit for driving of 0.08 percent.
Hettinger claimed that smoke and dust he inhaled after the attacks on the World Trade Center damaged his lungs and made a breath test inaccurate.
A defense witness, University of Washington chemist Michael Hlastala, testified that the equipment used by law enforcement agencies to measure alcohol in the blood was “not scientifically accurate” _ a contention disputed by Vermont Health Department chemist Darcy Richardson.
In closing arguments, defense attorney William Kraham downplayed the lung condition and instead focused on the arresting officer, saying the officer just wanted to arrest a “big city fish.”