Lawyer: Coat chewing could’ve thrown off breath test

BERWICK, Pa. – An attorney for a Pennsylvania woman charged with drunken driving hinted his client’s coat-chewing could’ve thrown off the results of her breath test.

The (Bloomsburg) Press Enterprise reports the argument came during a hearing Tuesday for 47-year-old Jana Moschgat. An officer who pulled Moschgat over testified she was nibbling on her coat before he gave her the breath test and that he ordered her to stop.

Moschgat’s lawyer, Travis Petty, asked the officer if he knew the chemical composition of the coat, noting that certain substances can alter the results of the test.

Moschgat’s test showed her blood-alcohol level was 0.151 per cent, nearly twice the legal limit for drivers in Pennsylvania. The officer says Moschgat also smelled of alcohol and failed a field sobriety test.

The judge ruled there was enough evidence to send the charges to trial.