Man Held on Suspicion of Driving ‘Dead’ Drunk

If the charge police made against Mark Thornton was true, he may have a world-class hangover.

Thornton, who was arrested in Sunland on suspicion of drunk driving, had enough alcohol in his blood to kill him, according to authorities.

Breath and blood tests conducted on Thornton, 34, a transient, after his arrest Thursday found a blood alcohol level of 0.59%, nearly six times the amount considered legally drunk and well above the amount considered fatal, Los Angeles Police Officer Ed Burns said.

“Apparently he was talking and mobile when he was brought in,” Burns said. “He was still living when he should have been dead.”

Thornton was being held in Van Nuys Jail in lieu of $1,000 bail and was in good condition, police said.

Cathy Eldrid, a nurse in the Chemical Dependency Recovery Unit of the Medical Center of North Hollywood, said it is extremely rare for a person to survive such a high blood-alcohol content.

“At 0.40, 0.42, 0.45--that’s about the time people start to go into a coma,” said Eldrid, whose department handles about 20 drug and alcohol cases a day.

The 0.5% alcohol level is considered fatal, she said.

“We have had a couple of people with blood alcohol about that high, but they had to be carried in by two people,” Eldrid said.