This story has two strange twists: one involves alcohol and the other involves 11,000 salmon being spilled on a highway.
Truck Driver In Massive Salmon Spill Claims “Auto-Brewery Syndrome” https://t.co/eBajz8ceGv pic.twitter.com/TwyGDzXErS
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 3, 2016
KVAL TV in Eugene, had a headline at the time of the incident that read, “Hatchery truck crash: ‘The whole highway was covered with fish.'” The story described a witness saying fish were “just flopping around everywhere.”
The truck driver, Ray Lewis, works for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and said he suffers from a medical condition called “auto-brewery syndrome.”
Lewis claimed his high blood alcohol level at the time was not from drinking, but from his medical condition, according to WJLA ABC 7 which was among the first to report on the incident.
At the time of the crash, Lewis reportedly had a blood alcohol level of .29 — that’s three times above the legal limit, according to the article.
According to a blog post by lawyer and legal scholar Jonathan Turley, Lewis has a meeting with his employer later this month, and he expects to be fired.
Lewis’s case isn’t unique. Early this year, a woman in upstate New York claimed she suffers from auto-brewery syndrome. According to an article on CNN.com, DUI charges against the woman — whose name was not released — were dismissed. Her attorney Joseph Marusak said she had the syndrome and that caused her blood alcohol level to spike– it registered more than four times the legal limit, according to the report.
And on other odd things that have spilled on roadways — potatoes, milk and printer ink.