The publisher of Maxim Magazine needed the answer to a tough question about lethal alcohol levels, and called Mr. Head for information. The article was part of the publication’s “Ask Anything” section where readers pose unusual questions and the magazine seeks the answers for purposes of publication. The April 2006 edition, p. 90 had the following information:
Q: What's the highest BAC a person has ever blown?
A: The legal limit for blood alcohol content is .08, which a 180-pound guy hits with six beers during a three-hour baseball game. Quintuple that and you're flirting with death. But, "Like with any toxin, your body builds up tolerance," says William C. Head, an Atlanta-based DUI lawyer who's worked more than 1,000 DUI trials. "I've seen people at .44 standing upright and people at .20 in a comalike state." In 2004 stunned doctors in Bulgaria did five separate blood tests to confirm that a 67-year-old drunk who'd been hit by a car had a fatal-to-elephants BAC of .914. That'd work out to five beers an inning, but who has that kind of cash?
