(a) Any person who drives, operates, or has under his physical control a motor vehicle in the Territory shall be deemed to have given his consent to chemical testing of his blood, breath or urine for the purpose of determining the alcoholic or drug content of his blood, provided that such testing is incidental to a lawful arrest and administered at the direction of a police officer having reasonable cause to believe such person has violated subsection (a) of section 493 of this chapter and within two hours after such person has been placed under arrest for any such violation.
(b) A person arrested under section 493 shall, prior to being offered a chemical test under this section, be informed that refusal to submit to a chemical test will result in:
(1) evidence which may be used against him; and
(2) the suspension of his driving privileges.
(c) The police officer making the arrest shall determine which chemical test shall be administered and, if such police officer determines more than one chemical test is required to accurately measure the alcoholic or drug content of a person's blood, additional chemical tests, as specified by the police officer, shall be administered.
(d) Any person who is unconscious or otherwise in a condition rendering him incapable of refusing to take the chemical test or tests required by this section shall be deemed not to have withdrawn his consent and such test or tests may be administered whether or not the person is informed as specified in subsection (b) hereof.
(e)
(1) Every police officer who offers a chemical test to a person under this section shall complete an affidavit. The affidavit shall contain the following:
(A) Name of the person offered a chemical test.
(B) Date and time that the test was offered or administered.
(C) Whether the person submitted to each chemical test offered by the police officer.
(D) If the chemical test was administered, the results of the test.
(E) The police officer's grounds for believing that the person was in violation of section 493 of this title.
(2) All affidavits required under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be filed with the court in which the person makes his initial appearance. At the initial appearance of the person, the court shall review the affidavit. If the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that:
(A) the police officer had reasonable cause to believe that the person was in violation of section 493 of this title when he offered the chemical test to the person; and
(B) the:
(i) person refused to submit to a chemical test when offered by the police officer; or
(ii) chemical test resulted in prima facie evidence that the person was intoxicated under section 493a(a)(3);
(3) A suspension issued under paragraph (2) of this subsection shall take effect:
(A) fourteen (14) days after it is ordered by the court; or
(B) the day the person is arraigned for the alleged violation of section 493;
whichever first occurs.(f)
(1) A person whose driving privileges have been suspended under subsection (e) of this section may petition the court for a review of the suspension. The petition must allege reasons why the person's driving privileges should not have been suspended. A copy of the petition for review must be served upon the office of the Attorney General at least 72 hours prior to the arraignment. At the arraignment, the court shall review the allegations in the petition. The court's review shall be limited to the following issues:
(A) Did the person refuse to submit to a chemical test when offered by a police officer who had reasonable cause to believe that the person had violated section 493; and
(B) Did a chemical test offered by a police officer who had reasonable cause to believe that the person was in violation of section 493 result in prima facie evidence that the person was intoxicated.
If the court finds either of the issues to be answered in the affirmative, the court shall dismiss the petition for review of the suspension. If the court finds that both of the issues are to be answered in the negative, the court shall vacate the order concerning the suspension of the person's driving privileges.(2) Whenever the court suspends a person's driving privileges under this section, the court shall:
(A) obtain the person's driver's license; and
(B) forward a copy of the order to the Police Commissioner who shall enter the suspension on the driving record of the person.
If a court vacates the order of suspension, the Commissioner shall remove the suspension from the person's driving record.(3) Persons whose driving privileges are suspended under this section are not entitled to a review if the suspension is under Title 20, section 545, Virgin Islands Code.
(g) Evidence of a refusal to submit to or complete a chemical test or tests as provided for in this section shall be admissible into evidence when otherwise admissible upon the trial of any criminal action, or preliminary proceeding in a criminal action, arising out of acts alleged to have been committed by a person in violation of subsection (a) of section 493 of this chapter.
(h) Upon the trial of any criminal action, or preliminary proceeding in a criminal action, arising out of acts alleged to have been committed by any person in violation of paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of section 493 of this chapter while under the influence of a controlled substance, the results of any chemical test or tests administered pursuant to this section shall be admissible into evidence when otherwise admissible.
(i) Upon the request of the person who submits to a chemical test or tests under the direction of a police officer, full information concerning the tests shall be made available to him or to his attorney.
(j) No person except a physician, registered professional nurse, or laboratory technician acting at the request of a police officer shall be entitled to withdraw blood for the purpose of determining the alcoholic or drug content therein. This limitation shall not apply to the taking of urine, saliva or breath specimen.
(k) No physician, registered professional nurse, or laboratory technician, or hospital or other employer employing such physician, registered professional nurse, or laboratory technician shall be sued or held liable for any act done or omitted in the usual course of withdrawing blood at the request of a police officer pursuant to this section; Provided, That the foregoing immunity does not apply to acts or omissions constituting gross, willful or wanton negligence.
(l) The testimony of a registered professional nurse or laboratory technician to any such withdrawal of blood made by him may be received in evidence with the same weight, force and effect as if such withdrawal of blood were made by a physician.
(m) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when a motor vehicle accident results in the death of the driver or drivers involved within four hours after the occurrence of the accident, the medical examiner shall cause blood to be withdrawn from the body of the deceased driver or drivers for the purpose of determining the blood-alcohol content of such persons. The report shall be kept on file by the medical examiner, and shall be made available only to official highway safety agencies of the United States and the Virgin Islands Government (including the U.S. Virgin Islands Police Department (V.I.P.D.)) for use in compiling statistics to evaluate the effectiveness of highway safety programs. Such reports shall not be a matter of public record.