A California driver avoided a drunk-driving conviction with a bizarre reason: the man successfully argued in court that he had to flee "two angry women" after his wife caught him with his mistress.
Driving was therefore necessary and therefore permissible.
The Mendocino County Attorney's Office in Northwest California made the case public.
Thomas Patrick Houston, 60, from Ukiah, in a wine region, was caught drunk driving.
The case ended up in court.
"It was testified that Mr. Houston was caught red-handed by his wife and that his driving was necessary to enable him to escape from two angry women," prosecutors said.
California law allows driving under the influence of alcohol in emergencies when people are at risk of serious physical harm and there is no alternative to driving.
The prosecution argued, to no avail, that the law was not intended for a case like Houston's - and has never been used in such a case.
The trial judge nevertheless allowed a grand jury to consider fleeing the two women as justification for the drunk driving.
The jury acquitted Houston of driving under the influence of alcohol.
ktz/AFP