NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – A WSMV4 investigation revealed how many Tennesseans have been charged with drunk driving even though they were completely sober at the time.

This is the latest explosive discovery from WSMV4’s “Sobering Problem” investigation.

One by one, WSMV shared its stories. Mothers who lost temporary custody of their children, fathers who lost their jobs and their insurance. Case after case of sober drivers charged with DUI.

WSMV4 Investigates has now discovered how often this happens.

As a result of the Sobering Problems investigation, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation compiled all cases of people charged with drunk driving over a seven-year period who had no alcohol or drugs in their system.

This process revealed that this had happened to more than 600 Tennesseans. The number of Tennessee drivers charged with drunk driving while completely sober stood at 609.

For comparison, if all sober drivers charged with drunk driving went to the Ryman, they would take up more than half of the balcony seats.

WSMV4 shared these findings with Xavier Gray, the latest Tennessean found by the WSMV 4 Investigative Team arrested for drunk driving whose blood tests show was completely sober at the time.

“It’s a miscarriage of justice,” Gray said. “I knew nothing was in my system. I thought I was in a special situation, but it seems that’s not the case.

The first part of the data was collected at the request of State Rep. Lowell Russell, who watched WSMV4’s Sobering Problems investigations.

Russell said one of his constituents was arrested for drunk driving and was also sober at the time.

The data doesn’t even include how often this happened in 2024. Gray’s arrest happened this year.

Even mothers opposed to drunk driving call these cases “tragic.”

You will hear from them when our investigation continues on Monday at 6 p.m.

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