VILNIUS, Lithuania(AP) Lithuanian police were so astonished when they pulled over a truck driver and his breathalyzer test registered 18 times the legal alcohol limit, they thought their testing device must be broken. It wasn't.

Police said Tuesday 41-year-old Vidmantas Sungaila registered 7.27 grams per liter of alcohol in his blood repeatedly on different devices when he was pulled over for driving his truck down the center of a two-lane highway 60 miles from the capital, Vilnius on Saturday.

Lithuania's legal limit is 0.4 grams per liter.

"This guy should have been lying dead, but he was still driving. It must be an unofficial national record," Saulius Skvernelis, the director of the national police traffic control service, told the AP. "He was of high spirits and grinning the whole time he was questioned."

Medical experts say anything above 3.5 grams per liter of alcohol in the blood is lethal for most people.

"A person this intoxicated should be in an intensive care unit, not behind the wheel," said Tautvydas Zikaras, head of the dependence illness center in the country's second-largest city, Kaunas. Zikaras said he had never heard or read of someone being so drunk.

Sungaila, who was slapped with a 3,000 litas ($1,110) fine and the loss of his license for up to three years, told police he had been drinking the night before and tried to freshen up by downing a pint of beer for breakfast.

Lithuania has one of the worst road safety records in the European Union. Last year, 760 people died in traffic accidents in this country of 3.5 million residents. Most were alcohol-related.

Holy crap.. he must have had some party... thats amazing...

He ain't got nuttin' on me... don't underestimate the tolerance of a seasoned drunk..

Nah Spyder....thats a guy with some kind of super-human liver.

Considering that on the breathalyzer scale, .08 is legally drunk (2 beers in an hour) and 4.0 is in a coma leading to death, this guy probably woulda blown a 5 and change anyway.

sounds like my brother... he is a raging drunk.. i wouldn't be suprised if he has consumed this much at times..... and im still pissed at all those people who got my hopes up by saying it should be fatal..

Fatal or not, it is stupid that he got behind the wheel of a vehicle. I spend $40 bucks on cab fare just to make sure I am not the one getting behind the wheel when I tie one on. I didn't always do that...but something about being in a foreign country and the possibility of being locked up in a Japanese jail doesn't sound good to me. So, $20 bucks out and $20 bucks return trip. Better than the $1000s youd lose otherwise.
I wonder what this guys skin looked like. He must of had alcohol poisoning...

Traj, dont forget about being in those japanese prisons, where you dont get fed by them either. It is the responsibility of your family or friends to bring you food. Those prisons are pretty harsh over there. Being in Okinawa, I am sure you hear all the time about the idiots there that get in trouble. When I was there, there was something going on where 2 Marines were drinking and driving and ran over a young girl on a bicycle and not getting saved by the SOFA status, they were on their own. I was down there in Okinawa a couple times and there were just too many idiots down there.. Man I got a bit off topic there, but it just brought up memories of hearing those stories.

Up in Misawa when I used to party and stuff, we always had cabs waiting outside the bars, it was just 500yen, and was well worth it. I would rather pay a couple bucks for a taxi than losing a few ranks and be confined to base for 45 days and extra duty.

There were a few times I would have imagined my BAC would have been several times over that legal limit, and couldnt even imagine trying to operate a car.

I have heard many stories about these guys that are in trouble. If their families don't take care of them, they only get the bare minimum. So, probably a lot of skinny Marines in Japanese prison. I don't want to end up in there. There are cabs all over the island here...most of the younger guys have to take them since they are not allowed to have cars. I should share a ride with them...split it 4 ways and is only $5 to get to where the fun is.