People v. McDonough

Defendant was charged with DUI, after state trooper approached vehicle which had been parked on the shoulder of highway with headlights off, and odor of alcohol was present when driver rolled his window down to speak with officer. Officer testified that he activated his emergency lights, when stopping to see if assistance was needed, as it was dark and there was a lot of traffic. Objective facts of record fall within "community caretaking" exception to Fourth Amendment, rendering trooper's assumed seizure of Defendant reasonable. Once he detected odor of alcohol, officer had reasonable suspicion to further detain and investigate. (KILBRIDE, THOMAS, GARMAN, KARMEIER, BURKE, and THEIS, concurring.)