May 11, 2009 11:30 pm US/Eastern
Driving While Sleeping: A Wake Up Call
Possible Side Affect Of Sleeping Pill Ambien Being Blamed For Some Bizarre Instances Behind The Wheel
HILLSBORO, N.J. (CBS) ―
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Allergy medication can affect drivers more than alcohol.
CBS
Right now, as many of you get ready to go to sleep, consider that about 26 million people suffer from an inability to get a good night's rest and rely on sleep medication.
If you are one of them, and take a prescription, this could be a wake-up call about potential side effects, including bizarre behaviors that could even get you arrested.
The police in Hillsboro, N.J., recently pulled over a suspected drunk driver just before 10 p.m. a few years ago. It was all captured on camera.
They administered field sobriety tests. It was clear even from the distance of the camera that the driver was not doing well, and she was likely under the influence of alcohol.
But this ended up being no ordinary drunk driving case.
"I was a victim that night," the driver said.
She also said she didn't even know she was behind the wheel that night in September of 2006.
"All I knew is I went to sleep and I got up and this happened," she said.
She asked CBS 2 HD to conceal her identity. She said she was a victim of something called sleep-driving -- what we now know to be a possible side affect of the sleeping pill Ambien.
"I had a few glasses of wine, I ate dinner … went upstairs to bed, took my meds and then I got up the next morning to find the tickets on the dining room table," she said.
Her attorney,
Richard Uslan, has handled hundreds of DWI cases, and said initially this looked like bad news for her.
"She admitted she was drinking and there was very little that I could do by way of a defense," Uslan said. "She plead guilty."
But incredibly, while she was awaiting sentencing, the Food & Drug Administration ruled in an unrelated case to require the makers of Ambien and 12 other sleeping pill makers to include sleep driving on their warning labels.
Her case was eventually reopened, and just a few months ago, a judge overturned her conviction.
"It was unjust to convict someone of driving while intoxicated when all they did was intend to go to sleep that night and get up and wake up and go to work the next morning," Uslan said.
"There's no way to predict who will have a reaction and who won't at this time," one doctor told CBS 2 HD.
And it can happen to anyone.
Rhode Island Sen. Patrick Kennedy said he was asleep when he crashed his car, also in 2006, before the warning labels for sleep driving. He claimed he was not drunk, but blamed it on Ambien.
"Some of my patients report that they wake up in the middle of the night eating, walking, talking and things like that with Ambien," the doctor said.
"It was so traumatic, I'm glad it's over. It's not something you're ever going to forget. It really had a big impact on my life for two and a half years," the woman said.
In a written statement, Sanofi Aventis, the maker of Ambien said, "Patients should fully disclose alcohol and drug use with their healthcare professional and not consume alcohol while they are taking a prescription sleep medication."
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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