signonsandiego.com reported. The California Highway Patrol arrested 94 people in San Diego County on suspicion of DUI during this Thanksgiving holiday, down from 108 last year, the agency reported Sunday.
CHP officers made the DUI arrests between 6 p.m. Wednesday and 6 a.m. Sunday. There was one DUI fatality, compared to two last year.
Statewide, the CHP arrested 1,314 motorists for DUI, over the holiday weekend, down from 1,397 for the same period last year. Despite the DUI arrest drop, 30 people were killed statewide compared to 24 last year, the CHP reported.
nctimes.com reported. As the Thanksgiving holiday weekend wrapped up, San Diego County had recorded fewer roadway fatalities and DUI arrests than last year, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said.
The North County saw no DUI fatalities in the first 84 hours of the weekend, a period that started 6 p.m. Wednesday and ended 6 a.m. Sunday, CHP Officer Jesse Udovich said.
In San Diego County, one person died on the road in that period. A 46-year-old woman whose name has not been released was found dead on Highway 163 in Mission Valley early Friday, the apparent victim of a DUI accident, the medical examiner's office said.
Last year, the county saw two DUI fatalities, Udovich said.
San Diego County CHP officers made 94 DUI arrests in the first 84 hours of the weekend, down from 108 in 2008, Udovich said. Those numbers do not include DUI arrests made by other agencies, he said.
Statewide, the number of DUI fatalities was up by Sunday morning, with 30 deaths compared to 24 last year, Udovich said. However, the number of DUI arrests by the CHP was down, with 1,314 this year compared to 1,397 in 2008, he said.
cbs3.com reported. A Delaware County woman will spend time behind bars after pleading guilty to a fatal DUI case. One teen was killed, and another was seriously hurt by a driver who was huffing.
CBS
A Delaware County woman will spend time behind bars after pleading guilty to a fatal DUI case. One teen was killed, and another was seriously hurt by a driver who was huffing.
Racheal Jankins, 20, of Havertown plead guilty Monday to charges relating to the August 14th DUI death of 19-year-old Nicole Gallo. Gallo's family and friends were at the courthouse for the emotional DUI sentencing that changed the lives of three young women forever.
Judge Gregory Mallon sentenced Jankins to an aggregate term of incarceration of 4 ½ - 10 years in a State Correctional Institute to be followed by 6 years of state probation. Jankins was also ordered to pay several thousand dollars in restitution to the families of the victims.
Gallo's mother doesn't think four and a half years isn't enough time.
"I think anyone in that situation deserves more, and not just because it is our daughter. It's a life. You take a life, you owe a life I believe," said Donna Gallo.
Jankins was driving her vehicle on Lansdowne Avenue in Upper Darby Township when she lost control in the vicinity of Delaware County Memorial Hospital and struck Gallo and nineteen-year-old Christine Bochanski.
Jankins admits she was high on marijuana and huffing solvents at the time of the accident.
Jankins pled guilty to the charges of Homicide by Vehicle While DUI, Aggravated Assault by Vehicle While Driving Under the Influence of Controlled Substances, and DUI.
Jankins' family, nor her attorney wanted to speak to the media following the sentencing.
baltimoresun.com reported.A former River Hill High School football player is facing DUI and vehicular-manslaughter charges after a DUI crash early Sunday that killed a current player for the defending state champions and injured the team's captain. The DUI accident came just two days after a loss that knocked the team out of the playoffs.
David Dixon Erdman II, 22, lost control of his truck on Folly Quarter Road near Buckskin Lake Drive, struck three stone ornamental pillars and overturned, police said.
Seventeen-year-old senior Steven Joseph Dankos, of the 13000 block of Brighton Dam Road in Clarksville, was pronounced dead at the scene of the DUI accident.
Erdman, of the 4300 block of Heritage Hill Lane in Ellicott City, was transported to Howard County General Hospital for minor injuries, police said. His brother, 17-year-old Thomas Erdman, was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center but was discharged, according to the hospital.
Dankos and the younger Erdman were linemen for the River Hill team that had won two straight state championships and extended its winning streak to 40 straight games before losing in Friday night's state semifinal at Huntingtown.
Thomas Erdman, the team captain, has been the team's top defensive lineman, with a knack for forcing fumbles and recovering them. David Erdman, a 2005 River Hill graduate, was an All-Howard County lineman for the Hawks and went on to play at Wesley College in Delaware, where he was named a D3football.com All-American.
Patti Caplan, the Howard County school system spokeswoman, said the principal and a crisis intervention team met Sunday at the school in preparation for the next school day and the grief-stricken staff and students.
As players on the football team, the boys were well known, said Caplan.
"The team just had that game at state playoffs Friday night, and I know they were really a tight-knit team," said Caplan, "This is just so tragic. It's tragic any time we lose a young person, but even more devastating at this time of the year and given the season this team just had."
River Hill coach Brian van Deusen, who coached all three players, could not be reached for comment. Their families also could not be reached for comment.
Mike Harrison, head coach at Wilde Lake, remembered all three young men, especially the Erdman brothers.
"There was a lot of football talent involved in that DUI accident," Harrison said. "The one who sticks the most in my mind is the one who just finished playing [Thomas Erdman]. He was a factor. When you played them you had to scheme to play around him a little bit. ... The whole thing about River Hill being able to run the ball was the upsurge of the play of that line and his brother was a part of that as well."
The Hawks had been bitterly disappointed after losing Friday night in Calvert County, but Dankos' death puts football games in a different light, said Harrison.
"That was a football game. This is life," he said. "It does put things into perspective. I think Brian would say the same thing. There is something bigger than what we're doing with the kids on the field."
"It's one of the hardest things that you deal with when you deal with young kids, to be in that situation where you try to coach them and mentor them and have them grow up and make great decisions and then something happens," said Harrison, who has been coaching in Howard County since 1986. "It's going to be a hard thing for the River Hill program to have to deal with."
According to police reports, Pittsburg State University head football coach Chuck Broyles was arrested late Tuesday night in Galena and charged with misdemeanor DUI.
Broyles issued a statement through the university Friday. In that statement, Broyles said he is "embarrassed" by his recent DUI.
"I've always told our players, 'Don't ever do anything to embarrass me, this football program or the university, because there have been a lot of great things that have gone on here and you don't want to diminish that. You are the only one who is responsible for your actions.'
"Now, I'm the one who is embarrassed. I hope others will not judge me too harshly or let this incident tarnish the PSU football program, Dr. Scott or the university. I am the one who made a poor choice and I am the only one who is responsible for my DUI."
Pitt State President Dr. Steve Scott said in a related statement Friday that he is "deeply saddened and profoundly disappointed by this news."
"DUI is a serious problem and we do not take these things lightly," Scott said. "I appreciate Coach Broyles immediately bringing this to my attention and I know he understands the gravity of this incident."
Scott said that he will meet with Broyles after the Thanksgiving holiday to further discuss the matter.
Galena Police Chief Larry Delmont said that Broyles was initially stopped as part of a week-long DUI enforcement effort by the Galena Police Department on the south edge of town. Delmont said that Broyles was pulled over for speeding.
"When he was stopped, he was tested for DUI," Delmont said.
He added that Broyles' blood-alcohol level was over the state limit of .08.
From there, he was arrested and booked at the City of Galena Police Department and was later released.
"The officer used his discretion and allowed someone to come and pick him up," Delmont said.
mydesert.com reported. An early morning DUI crash over the weekend sent one Palm Springs man to a local hospital and second to jail on suspicion of felony DUI.
According to Palm Springs police, the DUI crash happened Saturday shortly before 2:30 a.m. when a Toyota SUV traveling south on Sunrise Way near Via Escuela stalled.
Derek Short, 23, and a passenger, hopped out to push the vehicle. The driver, Ernesto Paz, 23, steered the vehicle.
A tan Mercedes driven by Seth Arsenault, 52, of Palm Springs, then plowed into the Toyota and Short, according to police.
When officers arrived, they found Short severely injured and lying in the roadway.
Short was transported to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs.
Arsenault was treated and released for minor injuries and later arrested on suspicion of felony DUI, according to police.
Arsenault was released Saturday afternoon after posting $50,000 bail.
His DUI attorney said Monday that the incident was Arsenault's first DUI offense.
"He is obviously concerned about the other (man's) injuries," Wagenen said.
kxnt.com reported. DUI is blamed for a fatal crash in the southwest valley over the weekend. It happened just after 1 a.m. Sunday morning at the intersection of Flamingo and Rainbow. Police say a pickup truck driven by 18-year-old Kevin Miranda ran a red light and hit a car driven by a 24-year-old woman. The woman was killed. Miranda was not hurt, but he reportedly failed a field sobriety test and was arrested on felony DUI.
LOS ANGELES -- ktla.com reported. David Hasselhoff's ex-wife, Pamela Bach, was arrested for DUI Saturday night, according to authorities.
Bach, 47, was taken to the Los Angeles police department's Van Nuys station where she was booked at 9:30 p.m. for DUI and released.
She was stopped at 8:03 p.m. in the west San Fernando Valley by California Highway Patrol officers, a CHP official said.
Bach admitted to officers that she had a few drinks while she was out to dinner with her daughters.
Bach posted $15,000 bail and was released. She is due in DUI court on December 24.
This was not her first arrest in Los Angeles for driving under the influence. She was arrested in March for felony DUI.
Bach was married to "Baywatch" star David Hasselhoff from December, 1989 to July, 2006. She also appeared on the hit TV show. The couple has two daughters together, Taylor Ann Hasselhoff and Hayley Amber Hasselhoff.
DUI ARREST Patricia Schergen, 51, 20701 Locust St., Frankfort, was charged with DUI and disobeying a traffic signal after a Nov. 15 stop at Ferro Drive and Gougar Road, police said.
DUI CHARGE Linda Presley, 41, 9980 Franchesa, Orland Park, was charged with DUI, speeding and resisting arrest after a Nov. 15 stop at Cedar and Lenox roads, police said.
SUSPENDED LICENSE Mark Wiseman, 22, 1212 E. Illinois Highway, New Lenox, was charged with driving on a suspended license, speeding and no insurance after a stop Nov. 16 in the 700 block of East U.S. 30, police said.
SUSPENDED LICENSE Kelly Pyles, 41, 2827 Charon, New Lenox, was charged with driving on a suspended license and no registration after being stopped Nov. 16 at Brittany Drive and Haven Avenue, police said.
SUSPENDED LICENSE Jose Mancera, 33, of Joliet, was charged with DUI and no insurance after a Nov. 18 stop at Francis and Gougar roads, police said.
PROPERTY DAMAGE Benjamin Russell, 20, 18757 Leila, Mokena, was charged with criminal damage to property, criminal trespass and underage consumption of alcohol after an officer saw him Nov. 19 inside a vehicle at 1709 Nelson Road, police said.
HARASSMENT Police are investigating a Nov. 19 report of phone harassment in the 200 block of East Haven Avenue.
VEHICLE BURGLARIES Someone broke into vehicles Nov. 20 in the 900 block of Wisconsin Avenue and the 900 block of Wildwood Drive.
DUI ALLEGED Andrew M. Calderon, 38, 3762 N. Harlem Ave., Chicago, was charged with DUI, possession of a controlled substance and no insurance after a stop Nov. 12 in the 600 block of West Maple Street, police said.
WILL COUNTY
PROPERTY DAMAGE Stephen L. Alexander, 18, 8900 Woodbine, Tinley Park, was charged with criminal damage to property after pushing over a 3-foot tall glass stand after he and others were ordered to leave Frankfort Tobacco, 7230 W. Benton Drive, Frankfort Township, on Nov. 18, police said.
HOME BURGLARY A camera, credit card and cash were stolen Nov. 20 from a house in the 12000 block of 187th Street in New Lenox Township.
SCHOOL-BUS CHARGE Anthony S. Dramisino, 17, 7835 Lakeside Drive, Tinley Park, was charged with passing a school bus while it was loading students Nov. 22 at Lakeside Drive and Gray Lane in Frankfort Township, police said.
DROWSY DRIVING Scott A. Errichetto, 19, 2302 Kerry Winde Drive, New Lenox, was charged with disobeying a traffic signal and failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident after falling asleep at the wheel at Bruns and Cedar roads in Manhattan Township.
scpr.org/news REPORTED. Five people in Los Angeles County have have died in traffic crashes in the first 84 hours of the holiday weekend, the California Highway Patrol said. But no fatalities have been reported in Orange County.
Of the more than 1,300 drivers California Highway Patrol officers arrested for suspicion of DUI across the satte, 225 were in L.A. County, according to a CHP statement.
In Los Angeles County, five people have died so far, down from six at this time last year, according to the statement. Statewide, 30 people died in DUI crashes, up from 24 during the same period last year, according to the CHP tally.
DUI arrests were also down this year. Last year, 1,397 persons were arrested across the state by CHP officers during the first 84 hours of Thanksgiving weekend, compared to 1,314 this year. Countywide, 225 DUI arrests were made, down from 229 in 2008, the CHP said.
The zero toll in Orange County matches last year's rate, the CHP said. DUI arrests are up in the county this year, however, from 53 last year to 67 this year.
Those DUI arrest totals are for the CHP only, and do not include intoxicated motorists arrested by other police agencies.
sfexaminer.com REPORTED. A California Highway Patrol maximum enforcement period in the Bay Area this Thanksgiving weekend has netted slightly higher DUI arrest totals than during the same period last year, CHP officials said today.
As of 6 a.m. today, CHP officers have arrested 87 people in the Bay Area for driving under the influence since the start of the maximum enforcement period at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The DUI enforcement period will last until midnight Sunday.
The number was slightly higher than the 83 drivers arrested for DUI during the same time period in 2008.
There have been no fatal crashes in the Bay Area so far during this year's enforcement period, the same as last year, according to the CHP.
Statewide, there have been more DUI arrests and fewer traffic deaths compared to 2008.
CHP officers have arrested 542 drivers for DUI statewide, compared to 513 during the same period last year. There have been 12 fatalities statewide since Wednesday, three less than in 2008.
sanluisobispo.com reported. San Luis Obispo County is again the recipient of a multiyear state grant designed to combat dui by increasing sobriety DUI checkpoints and adding patrols.
The three-year, $450,000 grant will pay for police officers' overtime to work various DUI checkpoints and conducting other enforcement efforts.
The San Luis Obispo County Avoid the 14 campaign relays the message that sober driving means motorists will avoid getting arrested by any of the 14 participating law enforcement agencies in the county, officials said. It sets countywide goals for DUI enforcement to meet each year, such as reducing or maintaining the number of DUI-related deaths and injuries from the previous year.
"If you're going to go out and drink, get someone to drive for you," Arroyo Grande Police Department Cmdr. Chuck Gerhart said. "Because if you go out on the road after drinking, we're going to do everything we can to stop you from negatively impacting the community."
Local agencies, but perhaps not as many as today, have participated in similiar DUI campaigns for about seven years so far, Gerhart said. It's been a state campaign since the 1970s.
"If we make one DUI arrest, then that whole checkpoint is worth it," Gerhart said. "One arrest is a positive impact on the community because you never know if that person is going to make it home or if they'll be the next person to hit a carload of people on the road."
DUI Task force agencies this year include the Atascadero, Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles police departments; the CHP; California State Parks' Hearst Castle and Oceano Dunes divisions: Cal Poly and Cuesta police departments; San Luis Obispo County Probation; the Sheriff's Department; and the department of Alcoholic Beverage and Control.
In 2008, there were 12 deaths in the county from alcohol-related vehicle accidents, 217 people injured and 2,739 people arrested for alcohol-related offenses. That's down from 2007, when 17 people in the county died in alcohol-related vehicle accidents and 280 people were injured. That year 2,440 people were arrested for alcohol-related offenses.
Those statistics, which came from local police this year and last, don't represent instances caught at checkpoints, but provide a snapshot of alcohol-related instances from the calendar year.
The funding is also slated to pay officers for warrant and probation sweeps on repeat DUI offenders and to check people who drive away from the courthouse after being told not to drive by the judge.
Individual agencies can apply for smaller-scale campaign grants to conduct their own added DUI enforcements, Gerhart said, which supplement the county effort
ydr.inyork.com reported. State police arrested a York man on a variety of charges after he fled a DUI sobriety checkpoint late Wednesday night and had to be subdued with a stun gun.
Tedd V. Schuler Jr., 29, was arrested for DUI, resisting arrest and forgery, among other charges, in the incident that occurred at a DUI sobriety checkpoint on the business loop of Interstate 83 Wednesday night, state police reported.
Schuler was detained for suspected DUI at the checkpoint and after providing a blood sample in an ambulance, he ran into the nearby woods, police said.
Police chased him into the woods and when they caught up to him, Schuler fought with police, prompting officers to subdue him with a stun gun. Even after that, police said, he continued to fight.
After apprehending him, police discovered that Schuler allegedly provided false identification and forged the name of another person on documents related to providing a blood sample. Police also discovered he was wanted on other warrants and had been driving under a suspended license.
He was booked at Central Booking and remanded to York County Prison on the warrants with no bail set, according to the York County Sheriff's office.
The DUI sobriety checkpoint, run by state police with the York County DUI Task Force, resulted in 18 arrests for DUI. Four drivers -- three of whom had been drinking -- were found to be driving with suspended licenses, police said. Three drug arrests were also made.
mechlocal.com reported. The Hanover County Sheriff's Office and the Virginia State Police conducted a DUI sobriety checkpoint on U.S. 360 eastbound at the Hanover/Henrico County line from 9 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 25, to 3 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 26.
According to Capt. Michael J. Trice of the Hanover County Sheriff's Office, 1,200 vehicles passed through the DUI checkpoint, with 95 being detained for further DUI investigation.
Field sobriety tests were conducted on 21 drivers, resulting in seven DUI arrests.
Other arrests included possession of marijuana (three), possession of ecstasy, possession of a concealed weapon/gun (two), fail to yield to law enforcement, and a fugitive out of Mecklenburg County.
boston.com reported. A Webster man died in police custody early Thanksgiving Day, about an hour after he allegedly scuffled with officers who had stopped the car he was traveling in at a sobriety DUI checkpoint in North Andover.
The man, 45-year-old Kenneth Howe, was in the booking room at the Andover State Police barracks when he suddenly slumped over and became unresponsive. He was brought to Lawrence General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:45 a.m.
Essex District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett said yesterday that the death remains under investigation. Toxicology results from an autopsy are pending, and the state medical examiner plans to conduct further tests to determine a cause of death, Blodgett said.
A man who answered the phone at the home Howe listed as his address last night said he was a friend of Howe's but declined to comment, saying the case remains under investigation. Howe's immediate family could not be reached for comment.
Blodgett said state and North Andover police and members of the Essex sheriff's department were holding a sobriety DUI checkpoint on Route 114 in North Andover Wednesday when a car carrying Howe approached, just before midnight.
A State Police trooper allegedly saw Howe, the front-seat passenger, making furtive movements. When the trooper asked him to step out of the car, Howe allegedly jumped out the window, hit the trooper, and fled. Blodgett said he was arrested after a short foot chase and struggle. He was charged with assault and battery on a police officer.
Another passenger in the car allegedly told police that Howe had lighted a marijuana cigarette before the DUI checkpoint and that he was trying to extinguish it.
thehour.com reported. While the line of cars waiting to flock to big box stores on Connecticut Avenue extended from exit 13 onto the I-95 South and caused annoyance for some motorists Friday afternoon, traffic was generally smooth and DUI accidents were kept to a minimum, state police said.
Lt. Paul Vance, a spokesman for the Connecticut State Police, said it's hard to say if any of the DUI accidents reported on Black Friday could be attributed to the shopping holiday.
There have been 147 DUI accidents across the state since midnight Wednesday -- a decrease from the number of wrecks that occurred on Thanksgiving weekend last year. Aside from a few fender-benders, all was quiet in Norwalk area, Vance said.
However, two people died in DUI accidents, and 16 accidents involved injuries in the rest of the state. In 2008, there was only one traffic fatality in the same time period, according to Vance.
Vance said that 31 people have been nabbed for DUI so far since extra troopers hit the highways at midnight Wednesday.
State police also have charged 522 people with speeding and 296 with seat belt violations. Troopers also have cited more than 1,100 people for other moving violations. Troopers will patrol roads and highway across the state throughout the weekend. Sobriety DUI checkpoints will also be in place.
HARTFORD, Conn.-- boston.com reported. More than two dozen people have been charged with DUI during a Thanksgiving weekend DUI sting by Connecticut police.
State police said Thursday that at least 28 were nabbed between midnight Wednesday and 10:30 p.m. Thursday from stepped-up DUI patrols and DUI sobriety check points over the Thanksgiving weekend.
State police also have charged 463 people with speeding and 283 with seat belt violations during the same time period.
There were 136 DUI accidents during that time. Two people died in DUI accidents, and 14 accidents involved injuries.
Troopers will patrol roads and highway across the state throughout the weekend. Sobriety DUI checkpoints will also be in place.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - 2.nbc4i.com reported. The Franklin County DUI Taskforce conducted a low-man sobriety DUI checkpoint late Friday night until early Saturday morning in Prairie Township.
The Franklin County DUI Task Force announced Task Force members conducted a sobriety checkpoint on Norton Road south of West Broad Street in Prairie Township.
According to a release issued by the Task Force, five people were arrested for DUI.
Nearly 300 vehicles entered the zone between the hours of 9:21 p.m. and 1:13 a.m.
Seventeen DUI citations were issued, and seven vehicles were impounded.
Support in operating the DUI checkpoint was provided by members of the Franklin County DUI Task Force and the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
ksee24.com reported. The California Highway Patrol says DUI arrests are up from last year this holiday weekend. From Wednesday evening through 9:30 Friday morning, the CHP made 271 DUI arrests. That's 34 more arrests than this time last year. Highway Patrol Officers are focused on citing drivers for several violations, including DUI, not wearing seat belts, and speeding. Last year 33 people died in DUI collisions over the Thanksgiving holiday maximum enforcement period.
ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (AP) - fox28.com reported. A former Oxford Village Council member has been sentenced to a year of probation on a DUI charge.
Michael Hamilton pleaded guilty Oct. 20 to DUI. Besides probation, District Judge Nancy Tolwin Carniak on Wednesday ordered him to perform 75 hours of community service, receive outpatient treatment and attend a DUI Victims Impact Panel.
Police in the northern Oakland County village arrested the 36-year-old Hamilton on July 18. They say his blood-alcohol content was between 0.17 and 0.19 at the time he was pulled over; the legal limit is .08.
Hamilton resigned from the village council July 28.
The Oakland Press says Hamilton apologized at his sentencing hearing and told the judge the experience taught him a lesson.
LAWRENCE -- eagletribune.com reported. A Lawrence man picked up on charges of DUI on Route 110 early yesterday is wanted on charges of attempted murder, State Police said.
Silver Dubon, 32, of 357 Hampshire St., is being held without bail in the State Police lock-up pending his arraignment in Lawrence District Court on numerous charges stemming from yesterday's DUI arrest as well as an October 2008 incident.
Police said Dubon, originally from Guatemala, was pulled over on Route 110 in Lawrence by State Police and charged with speeding, failure to use care in stopping, a marked lanes violation, driving without a license, and DUI.
While Dubon did not have a driver's license, the trooper who pulled him over saw a Methuen-based asbestos removal permit in his wallet, which was used to identify him.
State Police then found that Dubon had a warrant out for his arrest on charges of assault and battery, threat to commit a crime and attempted murder from a 2008 arrest.
According to an Oct. 13, 2008 police report, Dubon got into an argument with his wife, Alida Carrion, that escalated into a physical fight, during which Dubon allegedly tried to strangle Carrion.
At the time, police sought a warrant for his arrest.
According to archives of The Eagle-Tribune, Dubon was also arrested in March 2007 in Lawrence on charges of DUI and failure to stop or yield.
ROCHESTER, Minn. - http://www.myfoxtwincities.com reported. A Minnesota State Trooper writing a ticket for a DUI near Rochester on Thanksgiving morning had his squad car hit by another driver who was also drunk.
Trooper Sam Catlin stopped one driver for suspicion of DUI on Highway 52 about 3:14 a.m. Thursday.
The State Patrol reports that while Catlin was writing out a ticket for the first driver, a second car hit his squad. The trooper was not hurt.
Another trooper, assisting Catlin with the first DUI arrest, arrested the driver of the second car.
YORK TOWNSHIP, YORK COUNTY - fox43.comMore than 30 drivers get caught in a pre-Thanksgiving sobriety DUI checkpoint in an area known for DUI crashes and arrests in York Township. The Pennsylvania State Police in York and the York County DUI Task Force held the Wednesday evening checkpoint.
Three drivers for driving while DUI suspended with alcohol in their system
One driver for driving under suspension (not DUI related)
Three drug arrests
Two drivers for driving without a valid license
Five warrants
One driver, Ted Schuler Jr., allegedly took of from the inside of an ambulance after giving blood and ran into the woods.
Schuler led police on a foot pursuit, fought with police when he was caught, got tasered by police, and then began fighting again, police say.
Police say Schuler gave false identification to them and forged the name of another person on blood work papers. Schuler was wanted on numerous warrants and was DUI suspended, according to PSP Cpl. Brian Torkar.
Schuler faces charges of DUI, driving while DUI suspended, resisting arrest, escape, flight to avoid apprehension, and forgery.
York Area Regional Police, York County Sheriff's Department, MADD, West Manchester Township Police, Goodwill Volunteer Fire Company, and the Pennsylvania DUI Association assisted with the DUI checkpoints.
courierpostonline.com reported. As you get ready to dig into some turkey and mashed potatoes, New Jersey police are cooking up something of their own. Law enforcement agencies will once again spend the Thanksgiving holiday trying to catch drunken drivers by using sobriety DUI checkpoints.
Unfortunately, these DUI roadblocks are not only a misuse of police manpower, but they funnel scarce taxpayer dollars away from the most effective way to catch drunken drivers.
Skeptical? The numbers speak for themselves. Consider that more than 1 million vehicles went through 1,469 California DUI sobriety checkpoints in 2008. Police arrested just one-third of 1 percent of those motorists for drunken driving.
A similar analysis found that in 2007, less than 1 percent of the more than 181,000 drivers stopped at Pennsylvania DUI checkpoints were arrested. That's hardly a glaring success.
But there's a different way to catch drunken drivers -- called roving DUI patrols -- that allows police to do it much more efficiently and at less of a cost to taxpayers. A roving patrol is when police officers drive around and actively seek out drunk and dangerous drivers instead of passively waiting around at a roadblock for DUI offenders to show up.
Patrols are up to 10 times more effective than DUI checkpoints, according to testimony by a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation official. Case in point: Over the holiday season in Delaware last year, state police arrested 30 drunken drivers at DUI checkpoints, compared with 276 drunken drivers taken off the roads by roving DUI patrols during the same time.
Supporters will tell you that DUI checkpoints are a deterrent. But there's no measure of this unseen "deterrence." Chronic drunken drivers can simply figure out where a DUI checkpoint will be and plan an alternate route.
And that's precisely the problem with DUI checkpoints: They're easy to avoid. These roadblocks are highly visible by design and publicized in advance (a requirement in many states).
Putting all their eggs in one basket is also a costly exercise for police. DUI checkpoints can cost more than $10,000 each time they're set up, compared with $300 for each roving patrol. What taxpayers are paying for with checkpoints, then, is little more than an expensive publicity stunt that has little meat on its bones
If New Jersey police want to carve out a cost-effective strategy, they'll defund DUI checkpoints and beef up roving patrol efforts. In addition to stopping drunken drivers, patrols also catch drivers engaging in any number of other dangerous activities, like reckless speeding, aggressive driving and texting while driving.
It's hard to overstate the importance of a roving patrol strategy that cracks down on a wide range of traffic offenders. Why? Because a number of these other driving behaviors are actually more dangerous than driving drunk.
Statistics show that talking on a cell phone, driving while drowsy and traveling a mere 7 mph above the speed limit are all riskier than driving with a BAC (blood alcohol concentration) of 0.08 percent, the legal arrest threshold for drunken driving.
But sobriety DUI checkpoints won't catch drivers who are speeding, swerving, texting or driving aggressively. What they will do is waste taxpayer dollars, inconvenience thousands of responsible drivers and fail to stop the most dangerous chronic drunken drivers.
Let's see: A tenfold increase in drunken driving arrests or a stationary PR stunt? This Thanksgiving, New Jersey police ought to give up checkpoints cold turkey and adopt the only strategy that offers any gravy: roving patrols.
Sarah Longwell is the managing director of the American Beverage Institute (ABI) in Washington, D.C., an association of restaurants committed to the responsible serving of adult beverages.
TUCSON, AZ (KOLD) - The holidays can be a dangerous time on the road, with more people drinking and possibly driving.
The Southern Arizona DUI task force kicks off its campaign Wednesday to get drunk drivers off the road.
Local law enforcement agencies will be stepping up sobriety DUI checkpoints and patrols between now and New Year's day.
Copyright 2009 KOLD. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
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APOPKA, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - myfoxorlando.com reported. As millions of drivers head out to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, officers like Dan Colley of the Apopka Police Department, will be patrolling highways looking for drunk drivers.
"If a person is arrested for DUI they're taken off the road and we look at that as we've saved at least one life tonight."
Law enforcement officers like Colley, conduct roving DUI patrols or wolf packs, where they roam and pull drunk drivers over. They also have DUI checkpoints nearby, where drivers get flagged down in an area known for drinking.
But the American Beverage Institute, which represents the Restaurant Trade Association is against the DUI checkpoints.
"We don't want to see our customers at a DUI check point because they might have had a glass of wine with dinner."
The institute says officers make more DUI arrests nationwide using roving patrols rather than DUI checkpoints and think the DUI checkpoints target the wrong drivers. "We believe these checkpoints are not effective that they should be de-funded and all the money should be put towards roving DUI patrols."
While local law enforcement says, they do make more DUI arrests during the roving patrols, they believe the DUI checkpoints often educate drivers and deter them from drinking and driving, but the American Beverage Institute says there's no proof of that, "They simply go around them, also people text message each other letting them know where DUI check points are."
However, Colley and other law enforcement officers standby both techniques. "I think they're effective no matter how they're done."
Florida Highway Patrol says last year 52 people died in accidents during the Thanksgiving holiday. Out of that number, 24 were DUI related.
alamedasun.com reported. Four officers from the Alameda Police Departmentwere recognized Nov. 4 by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, California Office of Traffic Safety and the Alameda County Avoid the 21 coalition at a luncheon in Fremont.
Officer Keden and Officer Gandara were given recognition plaques and "23152" pins by MADD for their efforts to prevent drunk driving by making 26 and 25 DUI arrests respectively. Paragraph 23152 is the California Department of Motor Vehicle code that defines drunk driving.
Officer Horikoshi (seven DUI arrests) and Officer Ryan Derespini (six DUI arrests) received "Avoid the 21" pins and challenge coins from the Avoid the 21 program for DUI arrests during the multiple campaigns this past year.
This recognition seminar was highlighted by the recent events of the passing of Assembly Bill 91, which was signed into law on Oct. 11, 2009. AB 91 creates a pilot project in several counties, including Alameda County, which requires the installation of ignition interlock devices on any vehicle owned or operated by an individual convicted of a driving under the influence offense.
The 2009-2010 Avoid the 21 DUI campaign officially started yesterday. The Alameda Police Department plans on staffing two DUI checkpoints during the month of December. Actual dates will be released prior to the implementation of the DUI checkpoints
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- nytimes.com reported. New York's Senate and Assembly leaders agreed Tuesday on toughening state law to make DUI with a child in the vehicle a felony.
The deal will also require DUI offenders to have devices installed that will keep their engine from starting if their breath shows they are drunk.
Although the leaders declared agreement, lawmakers from each chamber tried to poke holes at provisions they thought where weaker than their own. Leaders promised any difference it details will be settled quickly.
The DUI law, if passed as expected in coming days, will be named for 11-year-old Leandra Rosado, who was killed when a station wagon full of children driven by a mother accused of DUI crashed in Manhattan on Oct. 11.
They were heading to a sleepover.
A DUI conviction would be punishable by up to four years in prison if a child up to 15 years old was in the vehicle. There are longer prison terms if the child is injured. Its supporters say it will be a strong deterrent. Currently, there is no additional charge if a driver convicted of DUI had a child in the car when stopped.
"Today I consider this a very glorious day and very victorious day for me," said Leandra's father, Lenny Rosado. "For my family, and for my daughter ... this is what is going to save lives in her honor.
"Everyone who takes a drink and gets behind the wheel, is going to think twice about driving whether there are children in the car or outside of the car and taking a life, that my daughter's name and her death will make a difference."
His tireless, emotional lobbying in recent weeks is widely credited with securing agreement in the Legislature.
Senators credited the New York Daily News for its series of articles on the issue they said pressured lawmakers to come to agreement.
They continued to accuse the Assembly Democratic majority and Speaker Sheldon Silver of trying to "water down" the bill, a contention Silver and Assembly members in the Democratic conference dispute.
Silver contends some minor elements of the Senate's DUI bill are weaker, giving judges discretion over the charge involving the interlocking devices to disable engines. The Senate disputes that.
In the Senate, the bill drew Democrats to a Republican bill in a rare show of bipartisanship in that chamber this year. The Assembly also drew the early support of Silver and Republican leader Brian Kolb.
LAWRENCE -- eagletribune.com reported. A Lawrence man picked up for DUI on Route 110 earlier today was wanted for attempted murder, State Police said this morning.
Silver Dubon, 32, of 357 Hampshire St., was held without bail in the State Police lock-up pending his arraignment today in Lawrence District Court on numerous charges stemming from this morning's DUI arrest as well as an October 2008 incident.
Dubon, originally from Guatemala, police said, was pulled over last night on Route 110 in Lawrence by State Police and charged with speeding, failure to use care in stopping, a marked lanes violation, driving without a license, and DUI.
While Dubon did not have a driver's license, the trooper who pulled him over saw a Methuen-based asbestos removal permit in his wallet, which was used to identify him.
State Police then found that Dubon had a warrant out for his arrest for assault and battery, threat to commit a crime and attempted murder from a 2008 arrest.
According to an Oct. 13, 2008 police report, Dubon got into an argument with his wife, Alida Carrion, that escalated into a physical fight, during which Dubon allegedly tried to strangle Carrion.
At the time, police sought a warrant for his arrest. According to archives of The Eagle-Tribune, Dubon was also arrested in March 2007 in Lawrence on charges of DUI and failure to stop or yield.
St. Paul, Minn. -- kare11.com reported. The extended Thanksgiving weekend is bringing travelers out in huge numbers, and many of them will be filled with a little too much holiday cheer. That's once again prompting law enforcement to step up DUI patrols on Minnesota highways for DUI driving and other hazardous habits.
"Over the past three years we've had 19 people die over the Holiday weekend," Minnesota State Trooper Jonathan Olsen told KARE during a ride-along Thursday.
That's a sobering statistic made worse by DUI, and in the first night of holiday DUI saturation patrols Wednesday night the State Patrol removed 33 DUI drivers from the roads. Arrest numbers for other agencies hadn't been tabulated yet.
In one case early Thursday morning Trooper Sam Catlin pulled over one DUI driver only to have his patrol car sideswiped by a second DUI driver. Catlin escaped serious injury in the incident, on Highway 52 near Rochester.
Trooper Olsen knows firsthand how dangerous those stops can be for police, even with the so-called "move over" law in place requiring motorists to slow down and move into another lane if they a traffic stop. During the first snow in early October Olsen's Crown Victoria cruiser was struck by an errant driver.
"He slid sideways and hit my car in the rear, then flipped around and hit the front of the car," Olsen recalled, "It's very unnerving when you look in the rear view mirror and see someone sliding sideways toward you and there's nothing you can do except wait for the hit."
Speed is another major problem during the Holiday rush, compounded by family events, shopping and too much celebrating.
"The combination of all those factors, the stress, the speed, the rush to get around is why Thanksgiving weekend tends to have such a high death toll," Olsen explained.
This is also the first Thanksgiving since the state's new primary seat belt law went into effect. The state's safety belt compliance rate reached 90 percent this fall, an new all time high.
And yet, over the span of a half hour Thursday morning, Olsen was able to make three stops on I-94 after spotting unbelted drivers and passengers. Under the provisions of the new law, officers no longer need any other reason to stop drivers.
That results in tickets for both the driver and any unbelted passenger age 15 or older. They'll both be responsible for paying a fine, which is $106 in Ramsey County District Court. The driver is responsible only for unrestrained passengers younger than 15.
"We just started driving and hadn't had a chance to buckle them yet," said one of the drivers he pulled over. It's not an excuse that will work, of course, because you must be belted in regardless of speed or how fast you're moving.
LAS VEGAS--mercurynews.com reported. A preliminary hearing was postponed for a 25-year-old Henderson man held on felony DUI charges in the death of a relay race runner Oct. 10.
A prosecutor says Joshua Salayich is considering a plea deal in the DUI crash on that killed 33-year-old Jeremy Kunz of Kamas, Utah.
Kunz was taking part in the 180-mile Ragnar Relay run from Valley of Fire State Park to Red Rock Resort when he was struck and killed near a relay exchange in Henderson.
Salayich is accused of running from his car after it overturned in the desert. He was later arrested on suspicion of DUI causing death and leaving the scene of a fatal injury accident.
He remains in custody at the Clark County jail on $125,000 bail.
nbcconnecticut.com reported. A tough start to the holidays for Woodbridge selectman James Sabshin. He was arrested Wednesday in Hamden, accused of DUI and leading police on a chase.
Police say he refused to pull over, side-swiped a guardrail twice and swerved between the right lane and shoulder before finally pulling over. Sabshin is due in court next month.
Meanwhile, State troopers continue to patrol all roads and highways across Connecticut to focus on more DUI violations.
Since the Thanksgiving holiday weekend started, troopers have issued more than 522 speeding tickets and 293 seat belt violations.
Troopers have also made 31 DUI arrests and responded to 147-DUI accidents. Two have been deadly.
PITTSBURGH -- thepittsburghchannel.com reported. A former Carnegie Mellon University professor was arrested for DUI Thursday night in Shadyside.
WTAE's news exchange partners at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Jeffrey Hunker, 52, allegedly hit several parked cars while driving about a mile from his Shady Avenue home.
Police said Hunker would hit a car, stop, take off and then do it again.
In August of 2008, Hunker was arrested on suspicion of DUI three times in eight days. Hunker went to rehab instead of doing jail time, the Trib reported.
WTAE's Team 4 recently reported that every year, more than 50,000 Pennsylvania drivers get caught DUI driving , and they're all allowed to keep driving after getting arrested.
Channel 4 investigative reported Jim Parsons found 41 states have laws requiring that a person arrested for DUI loses his or her driver's license on the spot. But in Pennsylvania, the law requires a conviction before a license can be revoked.
ST. PAUL, Minn. -myfoxtwincities.com reported. The Minnesota State Patrol and local police agencies will have extra DUI patrols throughout the extended Thanksgiving weekend, which is a historically dangerous stretch.
19 people were killed on Minnesota roads Wednesday through Sunday of the Thanksgiving weekend in the last three years. Of those 19 death, 10 were DUI related and more than half of those killed were not wearing seatbelts.
"Every year Thanksgiving turns tragic, resulting in empty chairs around the dinner table," Captain Matt Langer of the Minnesota State Patrol said. "Enforcing seatbelt use and being alert for DUI drivers are two key ingredients to ensure safety. We strongly encourage motorists to do their part by making safe decisions behind the wheel."
The enhanced patrols will also include seatbelt enforcement. A belt citation costs more than $100.
COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - wistv.com reported. Heading into the holiday travel season, law enforcement is cracking down on DUI drivers. In South Carolina, the highway patrol is putting extra troopers on the road.
South Carolina had the second highest level of DUI deaths in the country last year. 463 people died in crashes involving alcohol.
South Carolina state troopers were out Wednesday for the start of the Thanksgiving weekend, not to ruin a person's holiday but to keep drivers safe.
"What we're focusing on are violations that affect a person's quality of life," said Cpl. Brian Benfield, minutes after pulling over a driver for going 90 in a 60 mph zone.
Benfield and other troopers handed out citations for mostly speeding. Benfield says troopers will have zero tolerance for DUI.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, one out of every three fatal accidents across the country in 2008 were DUI-related. But when you look at South Carolina alone, that figure almost doubles. Nearly two out of every four fatal accidents were DUI-related.
That deadly percentage makes the Palmetto State second worst for DUI deaths in the country.
Also, according to the NTSA, South Carolinians drank more per capita than those who live in Georgia and North Carolina last year.
"No, because people want to go out and have a good time and don't think about the consequences," said Encinas.
She knows the consequences all too well. Her son, Kenneth Encinas, was hit and killed by a drunk driver.
"He chose to get behind the wheel," said Encinas. "He took off down McConnells Highway and wanted to hit the first thing he saw moving which was my son."
Encinas is now an advocate on a DUI victim impact panel in York County to tell other DUI offenders her story of the consequences of driving drunk.
Troopers say they'll be on the highways 24/7 over the Thanksgiving weekend, and warn drivers if you drink and drive, "You're gonna pay the price," said Cpl. Benfield.
The Palmetto State is doing a little better on traffic fatalities this Thanksgiving: 808 so far this year, compared to 818 by this time in 2008. That's still far too many for the highway patrol.
"We're going to always emphasize safety," said LCpl. Josef Robinson. "We're going to always emphasize that we don't want people out there drinking and driving. And it may not get through to everyone but to some, it's going to get through and those are everyone we want to try to save and we don't anyone to be involved in a collision. We must continue this, this is our message and we're going to say that. We're going to continue to be out in force."
SALEM - nj.com reported. Officers from the Salem Police Department will be cracking down on DUI drivers as part of the annual holiday season "Over the Limit, Under Arrest" statewide campaign.
Beginning Dec. 7 and running through Jan. 3, local and state law enforcement officials will conduct DUI saturation patrols and sobriety DUI checkpoints, looking for motorists who may be driving while intoxicated.
A concentrated national effort, the campaign helps to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving through high-visibility enforcement and public education tools, including posters, banners and mobile video display DUI signs.
Launched nationally in 1999, the program works to combat drunk driving during some of the busiest travel times of the year.
"This is a critical law enforcement program that can save lives during a time of the year when DUI driving traditionally increases by nearly 10 percent," Pam Fischer, director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, said recently in a news release.
"This DUI initiative brings attention to not only the serious fines and penalties drunk drivers can face, but the grave danger these motorists pose to all individuals on the road."
DUI drivers kill nearly 18,000 people on our nation's roadways each year, according to the news release. In 2008, 152 people were killed as a result of DUI-related crashes in New Jersey. That number represents 26 percent of the 590 traffic fatalities reported in the state.
Law enforcement agencies participating in the "Over the Limit, Under Arrest" 2009 crackdown offer the following advice:
If you plan to drink, designate a driver - someone who will not drink so they're sober to drive - before going out.
Take mass transit, a taxicab, or ask a sober friend to drive you home.
Spend the night where the activity is held.
Report impaired drivers to law enforcement. In New Jersey, drivers may dial #77 on their cell phones to report a drunk driver.
kget.com reported. The Bakersfield Police Department was hoping Wednesday night to catch drivers who shouldn't be behind the wheel by setting up a DUI checkpoint. However, the American Beverage Institute thinks police on patrol are more effective than the DUI checkpoints.
Patricia Martinez says she wants every kind of DUI patrol to catch drunk drivers so people don't lose loved ones like she did.
"We can't replace him," Martinez said of her husband Martin who was killed by a DUI driver last year on Thanksgiving.
Last weekend, her cousin's family of three was killed by a drunk driver in Mexico. Martinez hopes people will make plans for a designated driver or taxi before getting behind the wheel this Thanksgiving and every day forward.
"People are still going to be doing the same things and other people are going to be getting hurt," Martinez said.
Bakersfield police are on the lookout for drunk drivers and will have a D.U.I. checkpoint set up Wednesday night.
However, the American Beverage Institute, a restaurant trade organization, said in a statement, "In 2008, over a million vehicles went through 1,469 California DUI checkpoints. Police arrested just one-third of 1 percent of those motorists for drunk driving ... roving patrols catch up to 10 times more drunk drivers than DUI checkpoints."
Sgt. Allan Abney of the Bakersfield Police Deaprtment says there's more behind the DUI checkpoint numbers.
"Sometimes you get as high as 10-15 DUI out of them. Sometimes you have no DUI," Abney said. "I'm a glass half full type of guy and I believe that no arrests out of a DUI checkpoint, that means that people are paying attention, and they're not drinking and driving."
Abney says if text messages and word of mouth reveal where a DUI checkpoint is, they can easily fix the problem.
"We've picked up a DUI checkpoint and absolutely moved it within about a 30-45 minute period to a new location," he explained.
Abney says locations are chosen based on past DUI arrests and accidents and are usually on major thoroughfares or open space so the checkpoint doesn't cause traffic accidents. The checkpoints are funded through grants, so the Bakersfield Police Department says it doesn't cost much to operate.
DALLAS -- thetrucker.com reported. On Nov. 20, MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) celebrated the third anniversary of its campaign to eliminate DUI.
"We are on track to achieve MADD's goal of eliminating DUI," said Laura Dean-Mooney, national president of MADD. "The goal of the campaign is to ensure there are no more victims of DUI. This is especially important given the anniversary of my husband Mike's death ... . He would be proud to see these successes ensuring the future of our daughter's safety and that of other children."
The launch for the nationwide holiday crackdown of "DUI Over the Limit, Under Arrest" is set for Dec. 14 and has been accompanied by national paid ads that MADD successfully urged congress to provide.
The group reported on progress of the four key campaign elements:
• Support for high visibility law enforcement:
"MADD continues to advocate for DUI sobriety checkpoints in all 50 states, and supports full funding for law enforcement budgets," according to a news release from the organization.
MADD conducts DUI Law Enforcement recognition ceremonies across the country to honor extraordinary work of the men and women of law enforcement.
• Ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers:
The organization said it is looking at new technologies to help crack down on DUI.
"Starting with one state, New Mexico, in 2005, we now have 12 states with statewide requirements for DUI interlocks at .08 BAC [blood alcohol content] and California with a major pilot program covering four counties.
"These states cover 77 million people, with New York's law adding 21 million people just signed Nov. 18, 2009.
"Results from New Mexico and Arizona are very strong with DUI fatality reductions of 35 percent and 33 percent respectively."
• Voluntary exploration of advanced technologies:
The Cooperative Research Agreement between the U.S. Department of Transportation and the world's leading automobile companies is well underway, the group stated.
"Three technology companies are now under contract to develop proof of concept devices that will unobtrusively and effectively detect when the driver is over the illegal level of .08 BAC." Design prototypes are expected to be available by the summer of 2010, and
• Public support:
"The elimination of drunk driving will only be achieved with the full support of the American public," the group said.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released a major public opinion poll on September 17, 2009. It found that 84 percent of the public support interlocks for convicted drunk drivers, and 64 percent support advanced technology in all vehicles to stop DUI.
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety issued its national poll in July 2009. It found that 90 percent of the public support interlocks for convicted drunk drivers, and 78 percent support interlocks in all vehicles.
"In summary, these results prove that MADD is well underway in its goal of the elimination of drunk driving," the group stated.
FORT WAYNE, IN (Indiana's NewsCenter) --- Court records show that the Allen County man arrested in Tuesday's DUI fatality near Woodburn had a DUI criminal history.
At one time, the man actually had his license suspended for life.
According to police, it didn't stop 52-year old Brian Mansfield from getting behind the wheel and devastating a family from Ohio.
It's a sad story that almost seemed destined to play out.
The Allen County coroner's office says 45-year old Jacqueline Yenser of Antwerp Ohio died of blunt force trauma in a two-vehicle DUI crash at the intersection of State Roads 14 and 101 close to the Indiana-Ohio state line.
At last report, Mansfield, who lives in Monroeville, was still jailed on $25,000 bond, after police say he blew a stop sign and slammed into Yenser's SUV.
The woman's daughter was seriously injured in the DUI crash.
Police say Mansfield's blood alcohol level tested .37, nearly five times the legal limit.
Court records indicate Mansfield was convicted and sentenced as a habitual DUI violator in 1990, after driving at a high rate of speed and rear-ending another vehicle, injuring Deborah Kramer, then leaving the accident scene.
It all resulted in Mansfield having his license revoked for life, but Allen Superior Court Judge John Surbeck in 2000 restored Mansfield's driving privileges.
These kinds of situations are a source of great frustration for State Senator Tom Wyss, who has crusaded for tough DUI laws.
State Sen. Tom Wyss/(R) Fort Wayne: " This is just another case that's proven it's not solved yet. There's still the tragedies out there of lives being lost by people who are socially irresponsible and in some cases, where businesses are supplying the alcohol, they're being socially irresponsible too."
We've also learned that back in 2002, Mansfield was pulled over and arrested after his blood alcohol level tested .43, way over the legal limit.
But court records show charges in that matter were eventually dismissed before the case went to trial.
We could not find an explanation why.
Calls to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, to try and determine whether Mansfield had a valid driver's license at the time of Tuesday's fatal crash, were not returned. .
JEFFERSON CITY -- connectmidmissouri.com reported. Beginning Wednesday, mid-Missouri law enforcement will be out of in force to watch for drunk drivers over the holiday weekend.
But what's the best way to catch drunk drivers?
The American Beverage Institute says the answer isn't DUI checkpoints, which they call ineffective and a waste of money.
"There's no proof that [DUI checkpoints] deter drunk drivers," said Sarah Longwell with the ABI. "When they talk about deterrent, I think of it more as a publicity stunt."
The ABI, a trade group that represents restaurants serving alcohol , lobbies against lowering the legal drinking limit.
The group sites statistics from last year in California where a million people passed through DUI checkpoints but only one-third of one percent were arrested for DUI.
Predictably, police agencies and Mothers Against Drunk Driving disagree.
"If you even arrest one drunk at a DUI checkpoint and you keep someone from being injured or killed," said Lt. John Hotz with the Highway Patrol. "How can you put a price tag on that?"
The Highway Patrol says checkpoints are effective at saving lives and sites their own DUI checkpoint stats. In Camden County last summer one in 10 was arrested for drunk driving.
"MADD's been present at a number of [DUI checkpoints] since the mid-80s," said Bud Balky with MADD. "So we know they work, they're effective."
The ABI isn't entirely opposed to law enforcement crackdowns.
Longwell says police would be better served using "roving patrols," or saturations, where cops go out and look for drunk drivers instead of setting up DUI checkpoints.
"You would expect that kind of targeted enforcement would result in more arrests than the idea of pulling these cops off the streets, have them stand in one spot," said Longwell, "in the hopes that a drunk driver's gonna wander through."
KRCG News checked and most mid-Missouri police agencies say they already do saturations in addition to checkpoints.
The Highway Patrol points to public opinion polls which they say indicate more than 80 percent of Missourians favor DUI checkpoints.
CBS) Americans need to be careful on the roads this holiday weekend. Alcohol often flows freely at Thanksgiving weekend events and that puts drivers at risk - not of being in an accident involving a DUI driver, but of being inconvenienced by those pesky DUI sobriety checkpoints.
That's the message coming from, yes, the American Beverage Institute, a large restaurant and alcohol producer industry group managed by a Washington lobbying firm.
"Statistics show that the average drunk driver in a fatal car crash was driving at a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit. Rather than targeting this dangerous population, DUI sobriety checkpoints inconvenience all driving adults," reads an ABI press release urging law enforcement agencies to forgo the DUI checkpoints.
The release argues that very few of the people who pass through checkpoints are actually arrested for being drunk - just 1 percent in California in 2008. It doesn't address the fact that the existence of the DUI checkpoints might discourage drunk driving, leading to that desirable result or that research shows that DUI sobriety checkpoints are indeed effective at reducing drunk driving, which kills about 15,000 people a year.
-Research shows that those convicted of drunk driving for the first time have driven drunk more than 87 times before their first arrest, thus DUI checkpoints are crucial for the prevention of drunk driving and in turn, for saving more lives; and
-DUI Checkpoints have been shown to not only detect impaired drivers, but also drivers with suspended licenses, illegal weapons, stolen vehicles and numerous other violations.
The ABI advocates for roving patrols (presumably the same patrols that take place every day) to combat impaired driving - saying they are more effective - but does not note that DUI checkpoints are conducted in addition to, and not instead of, such patrols
huliq.com reported. DUI sobriety checkpoints do not work in stopping DUI drivers. This is the message from the American Beverage Institute in a press release today urging law enforcement agencies to forego the practice of DUI sobriety checkpoints over Thanksgiving weekend and, instead, focusing their time, effort and money toward the more effective roving DUI patrols.
The American Beverage Institute ("ABI") says that DUI sobriety checkpoints have proven to be ineffective in targeting DUI drivers. ABI Managing Director Sarah Longwell says "sobriety checkpoints are expensive, ineffective at catching drunk drivers, and target moderate drinkers instead of the root cause of today's drunk driving problem--hard core alcohol abusers."
In support of their position that DUI sobriety checkpoints miss the mark in curbing DUIs, the ABI points to statistics that show that the average drunk driver in a fatal DUI accident was driving with a blood alcohol concentration of over twice the legal limit. DUI sobriety checkpoints do not target these individuals, but rather, target and inconvenience all adult drivers.
For example, in 2008 in California, over 1 million drivers went through 1,469 DUI sobriety checkpoints. Police arrested just one-third of one percent of those drivers for DUI. Other states such as Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia reported similar results.
Instead of the DUI sobriety checkpoints, the ABI favors roving DUI police patrols which is where police patrol the streets and highways looking for erratic drivers.
Citing recent Supreme Court decisions in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, the ABI says that roving DUI patrols catch up to 10 times more drunk drivers than DUI sobriety checkpoints. Furthermore, roving DUI patrols are also much cheaper costing an average of $300 as opposed to the $10,000 in can cost to run a DUI sobriety checkpoint. Finally, a roving DUI patrol is more effective in catching other traffic violators such as speeders, distracted drivers and aggressive drivers.
ABI Managing Director Longwell went on to add that "because they are highly visible by design and publicized in advance, roadblocks are all too easily avoided by the chronic alcohol abusers who comprise the core of today's drunk driving problem. That leaves adults who enjoyed a beer or a glass of wine with Thanksgiving dinner to be harassed at checkpoints."
In the end, the ABI press release is urging law enforcement to ditch the DUI sobriety checkpoint for the Thanksgiving weekend and, instead, come the streets and highways for DUI drivers by way of the more effective roving DUI patrol.
EL CAJON (CNS) - sdnn.com reported. A motorist who had a pending DUI case when she allegedly lost control of her Dodge pickup truck in an unincorporated area of El Cajon, killing a pedestrian, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI and hit-and-run.
Deborah Felicia Felix, 52, faces more than 15 years in prison if convicted, said Deputy District Attorney Heather Trocha. The defendant is accused of driving her full-size truck off Pepper Drive north of El Cajon about 9:20 p.m. Saturday, hitting 35-year-old Cydil Deann Kohlmeyer, then colliding with several mail boxes, a parked pickup truck and a fence before crossing two front yards and hitting a house.
Kohlmeyer, of El Cajon, was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital, where she died.
Besides gross vehicular manslaughter, the defendant is charged with an enhancement that she tried to flee the scene after the accident. She also faces charges of DUI causing injury, including enhancements that she had a blood-alcohol content of .15 percent or higher and that the crash caused great bodily injury to the victim; DUI with injury with a measurable blood-alcohol content of .08 percent or higher; and misdemeanor charges of hit-and-run and DUI.
Trocha said Felix had pending DUI charges from a June 21 incident.
El Cajon Judge Lantz Lewis ordered Felix held on $350,000 bail and set a readiness conference for Dec. 4.
HONOLULU --google.com/hostednews/ap/article reported. Mug shots of DUI suspects are landing on the Honolulu Police Department's Web site, creating a virtual wall of shame long before suspects get their day in DUI court.
Supporters say the experiment in public humiliation to be launched Wednesday should be used elsewhere in the nation if it reduces the number of drunks on the road.
Critics counter the photo gallery is a heavy-handed tactic that threatens to violate constitutional rights and stain reputations without DUI convictions.
"We're not trying to embarrass anybody," said police Maj. Thomas Nitta, head of the traffic division. "This is public record, and we want people to be aware of this."
DUI defense attorneys doubt the strategy will stop intoxicated drivers from getting behind the wheel.
"There's no empirical data to show it does anything other than embarrass them," said a criminal attorney, who handles hundreds of DUI cases a year. "There may be a good intent here, but it doesn't necessarily make it a good thing and really opens the police up to liability."
DUI arrest records and photos are considered to be public records and have been published in newspapers and shown on TV for decades. The Honolulu program is different, however, because the police themselves are publicizing the images.
Recently released DUI mug shots in Hawaii include lawmakers and several stars of the ABC drama "Lost," which is filmed in the state.
Only a few other law enforcement agencies across the country post DUI mug shots on their Web sites. Arizona's Maricopa County waits until suspects are convicted before posting their photos. Jails in Denton, Texas, and Gwinnett County, Ga., link pictures to the names of suspects listed online for all crimes.
"I don't think people really think about that when they drink and then drive," said Officer Ryan Grelle, a spokesman for the Denton Police Department. "Their thought process is gone because of the alcohol."
Mothers Against Drunk Driving said it hasn't found any research on whether posting online photos of suspected drunken drivers would reduce offenses. It said an estimated 11,773 people died in drunken driving crashes in the U.S. in 2008.
"Based on the success or lack of success in Honolulu, other law enforcement agencies across the country could do the same thing," said Debbie Weir, chief operating officer of Dallas-based MADD. "Hopefully it will make a difference and we can learn some lessons from it."
Honolulu police arrest more than 80 people a week for investigation of DUI, said Nitta, who believes the cost of the online program will be minimal because it will be added to the routine duties of an officer in his unit.
At 10 a.m. each Wednesday, the photos of those arrested in the previous week will be posted for 24 hours under the headline, "Oahu's Drunk Drivers." After six months, the department will evaluate the results of the program.
The American Civil Liberties Union said the effort could violate constitutionally guaranteed due process rights.
"The police frequently arrest people who do not deserve to be arrested, and in today's Internet environment having your picture posted on a Web site is something that can stick with you for the rest of your life," said Jay Stanley, public education director for the ACLU's technology and liberty program.
McPherson said the program could also raise sticky questions if police faced the possibility of posting the photo of an arrested undercover officer or member of a witness protection program.
Barnett Lotstein, special assistant attorney for Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, said posting mug shots after convictions has had an impact.
"If you commit this kind of offense, it's not going to be a secret," he said.
montanasnewsstation.com reported. The Gallatin County DUI Task force chooses the holiday season as a time to remind people of the dangers of DUI.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving estimates that "each year nationally, more than 1,000 people typically die during Thanksgiving to New Year's in DUI crashes."
Prevention specialist with the Gallatin County DUI Task Force, Jason Karls, says that the effort of trying to keep DUI drivers off of the road and travelers safe is important during the holiday season, but it is a year round effort.
"Well with the DUI Task Force we're always concerned. We're always trying to get the message out there. We use the holidays as a time to highlight how important it is, and during the Thanksgiving to Christmas we definitely put a lot of attention to the media and get that message out there, because with the holiday season comes the factors of higher chance of risk of getting in an accident," Karls said.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also warns about seat belt safety over the holidays.
Nationally during the Thanksgiving holiday period last year, from 6 p.m. Wednesday to almost 6 a.m. the following Monday, 389 people died in DUI traffic crashes.
Of the ones who die at night over two thirds did not have their seat belts fastened.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, regular seat belt use is the single most effective way to protect people and reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes.
Research shows that when lap and shoulder belts are used properly the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passengers is reduced by 45 percent and the risk of moderate to serious injury is reduced by 50 percent.
SANTA ANA - ocregister.com reported. A DUI Marine - after demanding his car keys so he could drive home - hit and killed a doctor and injured his wife, a prosecutor told jurors today.
Lance Cpl. Elijah Leigh Ferguson had a blood-alcohol level of 0.15 to 0.16 - almost double the legal limit of 0.08 - during the Feb. 22, 2008, DUI crash in Newport Beach, according to Deputy District Attorney Susan Price.
Ferguson, 22, of Santa Ana, was indicted in March on one felony count of murder, one felony count of DUI causing injury, and one felony count of driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or more causing injury.
His trial, before Orange County Superior Court Judge Ronald L. Bauer, began this morning.
Ferguson, who lived in Santa Ana with his wife and young son, was working at Camp Pendleton the week before the crash, Price said.
That day, Feb. 22, he became drunk with other Marines - who took away his car keys so he wouldn't drive home, she said.
"Everyone wanted him to stay at the barracks and sober up,'' Price said. "He didn't want to do that."
Around 11 p.m., Ferguson persuaded a lower-ranking Marine to drive him back to Santa Ana, Price said. But instead of allowing the Marine to drive him home, Ferguson pulled rank and demanded his keys back, she said.
The crash happened less than an hour later, at MacArthur Boulevard and Jamboree Road in Newport Beach.
Ferguson, driving about 75 mph in a 50-mph zone, crashed into the back of an Aston Martin driven by 63-year-old Michael Sein, who was waiting at a red light, Price said.
Sein died a half-hour later. His wife, Grace Sein, suffered bleeding in her brain, but survived. Ferguson came away with a minor injury - a broken ankle, Price said.
During his opening statement, Ferguson's Orange County Dui attorney said his client - who has served in Iraq - suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. The DUI attorney also said his client wanted to go home because his wife had told him she wanted a divorce.
Womack added that Ferguson did not have any earlier DUI arrests, and said he should be found not guilty of murder "plain and simple."
Grace Sein, who was the trial's first witness, recounted to jurors the night of the crash.
She and her husband had left a singing studio - where they had met friends - and were headed home to Newport Coast.
She said she recalled that her husband put on his safety belt, and then pulled out of the parking lot. They talked briefly about an errand they needed to run the next day, she said.
The next thing she remembers, she testified, was opening her eyes and seeing her husband in the driver's seat.
"I saw blood coming from his mouth ... I just passed out at that point," said the wife.
Grace Sein was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana. She recounted waking up and asking her children about her husband.
"They told me, 'He's resting,'" she testified, crying. "Every day I asked, and they said the same thing, 'He is resting.' I thought, 'He's resting like me, he'll come see me soon.'"
If convicted, Ferguson faces up to 18 years to life in state prison.
The Orange County Register reported on Orange County DUI patrols. The Orange County Sheriff's Department will send extra patrol cars to the streets in Dana Point, San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano Friday evening to crack down on Orange County DUI during the first night of the Labor Day weekend.
The Tri-City Orange County DUI teams will concentrate in areas where there has been a high incidence of Orange County DUI -related arrests and collisions. Extra units will be looking for erratic driving from 7 p.m. Friday to 3 a.m. Saturday.
The roving DUI patrols are funded in part by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety
orlandosentinel.com reported. As millions of motorists take to the road this holiday, Florida Highway Patrol troopers are issuing a dire warning:
The Thanksgiving holiday period has been among the state's deadliest -- if not the deadliest -- for DUI crashes in recent years.
All state troopers, even those who perform administrative duties, will be watching the state's highways and toll roads, spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Montes said. She handles DUI crashes in Orange, Osceola, Lake, Seminole, Volusia and Brevard counties.
They will not tolerate DUI motorists, speeders and aggressive drivers, said Sgt. Jorge Delahoz, also a patrol spokesman, who handles DUI crashes on Florida's Turnpike.
"People drive worse on the holiday because they think they are going to get a break," Delahoz said. "But there is nothing worse than knocking on someone's door on a holiday to tell them a family member is dead."
The recession may make navigating Thanksgiving traffic more difficult this year. Thrifty travelers are driving instead of flying to save money, and AAA forecasts that, nationwide, the number of them going more than 50 miles from home by automobile will increase 2.1 percent to 33.2 million.
The Thanksgiving holiday, which extends from today to Sunday, has a reputation for fatal DUI crashes, many of them related to heavy drinking, according to Florida Highway Patrol reports.
There were more DUI fatalities -- 52 -- during the five-day Thanksgiving break than for any other holiday in 2008. New Year's Day was second with 42 deaths.
About half of 2008's Thanksgiving-break deaths were DUI-related.
"What happens is people who don't normally drink get caught up in the festivities and don't realize they are impaired because they are not used to it," Delahoz said. "They may not be legally drunk, but they are impaired."
Troopers also will be on the lookout for drivers who are not properly securing their children in safety seats or seat belts, Montes said.
The timing of these holiday-season deaths can make the DUI crashes especially tragic.
Delahoz, a 22-year veteran of the Florida Highway Patrol, said he can link a fatal DUI accident to almost every holiday. Thanksgiving is one of them.
Abby Rose Lee, 19, died during the Thanksgiving break in 2004. She was sleeping in the back seat without a seat belt when the SUV driven by her University of Florida classmate hydroplaned in a storm and rolled over on U.S. Highway 441 in Orange County.
Lee was ejected and died at Orlando Regional Medical Center.
Delahoz's daughter was friendly with Lee.
"I didn't realize I knew her until I was given the names of the victims. I can always remember her smile," Delahoz said.
"I had to call [a former vice president at the University of Florida] who cried when I told him the news. She was friends with his son and daughter."
Last year, Delahoz traveled to a Minneola home to tell a father that his daughter, Heather Marie Rogers, 19, was killed in a head-on collision with a DUI after Thanksgiving dinner. His other daughter Ashley Cage, 16, was seriously injured.
The driver of the other car, Nathan Lemos, 32, of Groveland, was going the wrong way on State Road 50 near Max Hooks Road near Clermont, according to an accident report. Lemos was killed, and an autopsy determined his blood-alcohol level was 0.214, more than twice the level at which one is presumed intoxicated.
Ashley's condition was so grave Delahoz said he hurried to her father's home to tell him the news for fear she would die before her family got a chance to say goodbye
scpr.org reported. Kenneth McNair, 22, faces manslaughter charges for allegedly killing Jose Pacheco in a high-speed DUI crash while intoxicated. McNair had no driver's license. Opening statements are scheduled to begin Monday, Nov. 30.
According to the Orange County Criminal Attorneys Office, McNair allegedly drank alcohol with a friend at his home in Downey on Nov. 15, 2008, then took a cab to the Downey Brewing Company where he drank more. McNair took a cab home, then drove to another bar and drank more before driving away with his friend.
At approximately 1:30 a.m., McNair was allegedly driving between 75 and 80 mph in a 45 mph zone in a Honda Sedan. He crashed into the back of Pacheco's Ford Mustang and sideswiped another vehicle stopped at a red light. The DUI crash sent the Mustang across the intersection, where it burst into flames. Pacheco died due to the fire. He was a 20-year-old student at California State University, Long Beach.
McNair crashed head-on into a semi-trailer truck on the other side of the intersection, then allegedly fled on foot. Several witnesses called 911.
Huntington Beach police arrested McNair one block from the scene. Almost two hours after the DUI crash, McNair had a blood alcohol level of .25 percent, over three times the legal limit.
LAKE FOREST - ocregister.com reported. A suspected Orange County DUI motorist was arrested after losing his way at a gas station and striking the wall, officials said.
Orange County Sheriff's deputies were called at 6:30 a.m. today by witnesses who reported seeing a man crash his black Toyota Corolla into a wall at a Shell gas station at Lake Forest Drive and Trabuco Road.
They told police that he was trying to maneuver his car through the station when he hit the wall, said Sgt. Roger Dawes.
According to police reports, the man drove the damaged car across the street to a shopping center parking lot where he attempted to change a tire, said Dawes.
Deputies arrived and investigated the incident.
Gregory Hopkins, 53, of Lake Forest was arrested on suspicion of Orange County DUI. He was taken into custody and booked into the Orange County Jail.
We want to update you on a News 12 Special Assignment from earlier this month. Jack Bailey was in a Wadley court Monday night, answering to his 4th DUI arrest.
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C.--- wrdw.com reported. We want to update you on a News 12 Special Assignment from earlier this month.
A family in Waynesboro is calling for justice after their father's death. 7 years ago, their father, Doug Ide, was hit and killed by a man driving with drugs in his system.
The driver, William Jack Bailey, was released on probation earlier this year and just weeks later was re-arrested for DUI.
Turns out it was his 4th DUI arrest. Monday night a Wadley judge ordered Bailey be placed on an ankle monitor. That monitor will check his sweat every 30 minutes for any trace of alcohol.
The Ide family calls it a step in the right direction.
The next DUI court hearing is scheduled for January. The judge says Jack Bailey and his DUI attorney have requested a jury trial in state court.
delmarvanow.com reported. Police stop unlicensed meat vendor: Police called to check out two suspicious-looking men selling meats from the back of a van found that one of them was wanted on Dorchester County arrest warrants.
The meat was being sold in the area of Ann Drive on Monday without the Health Department's permission, police said. And the van's driver, Dwayne Terrel Lake, 30, of Cambridge, was wanted by authorities in his home county for second-degree assault and destruction of property charges.
Police said Lake was arrested, taken to a District Court commissioner and held on $25,000 bond. The van and the meat he was selling were held by the Health Department. Police did not say if the second man was charged with any offenses.
LEWES
New Castle man charged with 4th DUI in Lewes: Police have arrested Francis Ashley of Valley Forge for his fourth DUI offense recently after receiving a call from a concerned motorist reported him driving dangerously on Route 9.
According to officials, On Nov. 23, shortly after 7 p.m., Delaware State Police's Georgetown dispatch center received a call from a concerned motorist reporting a possible DUI driver on Route 9 near Dairy Farm Road. The caller also observed Ashley pull onto the shoulder of the roadway and exit his vehicle to urinate.
A state trooper arrived shortly after Ashley returned to his vehicle, police said, and observed several contributing factors indicating that he was under the influence of alcohol.
After failing to cooperate with a field sobriety test, Ashley was taken into custody and charged with his fourth offense driving under the influence, indecent exposure, disorderly, and failure to have insurance in possession.
Ashley was committed to Sussex Correctional Institute in lieu of $5,001 bail.
OCEAN VIEW
OVPD offers free child safety seat fitting: The local police force is offering free child safety seat fittings for those interested in receiving the service from a state-certified officer.
The Ocean View Police Department has scheduled the sessions for Dec. 10 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at police headquarters, located at 201 Central Avenue.
Appointments are required. To arraigned a time call 302-539-1111.
REHOBOTH BEACH
72-year-old man arrested for indecent exposure: Local police have arrested William Richardson of Rehoboth Beach for repeatedly exposing himself to his neighbors from his residence in Country Club Estates.
During the early morning on Nov. 24, Rehoboth Beach Police were contacted by a local resident regarding a man exposing himself on multiple occasions from the front window of his home.
Responding officers conducted surveillance and witnessed the Richardson fondling himself in plain view of the street.
Richardson was arrested and charged with indecent exposure and lewdness then released pending a future court date.
STATEWIDE
17 arrested for DUI: Delaware law enforcement officers arrested 17 people for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs during the 21st week of the 2009 DUI Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign.
This brings the total number of DUI arrests for the campaign since its July 2 launch to 364.
In addition to the 17 DUI arrests, officers cited nine minors for underage drinking violations, apprehended six wanted individuals, made 21 drug arrests, 23 felony arrests, recovered one weapon, issued citations for seven seat belt and four child restraint violations, and issued 72 citations for various other traffic violations.
Four sobriety DUI checkpoints are scheduled to occur this Thanksgiving holiday weekend beginning with an eight-hour sobriety checkpoint on Wednesday, Nov. 25. The enforcement kicks off the Office of Highway Safety's 11th annual Safe Family Holiday campaign.
wcax.com reported. Cavendish man was in court today to answer to his fifth DUI charge. And, some prosecutors say the potential penalty for repeat DUI drivers is not enough.
29-year-old Randolph Benson was arrested Monday evening. According to court papers, he had a blood alcohol level of .118. Benson has already been convicted on four other DUI charges.
Under current Vermont law, if convicted, Benson could be punished up to five years in jail, because he has had three or more convictions. However, there is no enhanced penalty for DUI drivers beyond their third offense.
State's Attorney Robert Sand did not comment directly on the Benson case, however he did say that he thinks the penalty for repeat DUI offenders should be stiffer.
"We have seen enough multiple DUI offenders four, five, six, seven, and beyond that I think the time has come to change the penalty for those recidivist drunk drivers and to increase the penalty beyond the five year cap. I propose a 15 year cap for the fourth offense and quite frankly a life possible sentence for DUI 5 and beyond," said Windsor County Prosecutor Robert Sand.
Benson is currently being held on $5,000 bail. He is also charged with violating conditions of release and driving with a suspended license.
The Orange County Register reported on an Orange County DUI checkpoint. The Fountain Valley Police Department will hold an Orange County DUI/drivers license checkpoint starting 9 p.m. Friday at a location that will be disclosed on the day of the event.
Residents who wish to find out the location can call the police department. The Orange County DUI checkpoint will run until 3 a.m. Saturday.
Funding for this Orange County DUI operation is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
DOVER -- delmarvanow.com reported. Delaware law enforcement officers arrested 17 people for DUI during the 21st week of the 2009 DUI Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign.
This brings the total number of DUI arrests for the campaign since its July 2 launch to 364.
In addition to the 17 DUI arrests, officers cited nine minors for underage drinking violations, apprehended six wanted individuals, made 21 drug arrests, 23 felony arrests, recovered one weapon, issued citations for seven seat belt and four child restraint violations, and issued 72 citations for various other traffic violations.
Four DUI sobriety checkpoints are scheduled to occur this Thanksgiving holiday weekend beginning with an eight-hour DUI checkpoint on Wednesday, Nov. 25. The enforcement kicks off the Office of Highway Safety's 11th annual Safe Family Holiday DUI campaign.
Officers of the Chino Police Department successfully concluded a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint over the weekend resulting in 13 DUI arrests, 60 citations, and 30 impounded vehicles. The DUI checkpoint took place on Friday night, November 13th, in the 12400 block of Mountain Avenue.
DUI Checkpoints are one of the many tools the Chino Police Department uses to educate the public about general traffic safety and the dangers of driving impaired.
The Chino Police Department encourages people to call 9-1-1 and report suspected drunk drivers.
eonline.com reported. Just as John Kerry predicted, his daughter's DUI charge has disappeared. But prosecutors say it's business as usual.
The Los Angeles City Attorney's office confirmed to E! News today that actress-filmmaker Alexandra Forbes Kerry won't be facing a misdemeanor DUI charge following her arrest last week.
"Our prosecutors had an opportunity to review the report that was sent to us and felt there was insufficient evidence to warrant the filing of DUI charges," spokesman Frank Mateljan said, noting that the 36-year-old registered .06 on a Breathalyzer test--a smidge under California's legal limit of .08.
He also dismissed any speculation of favoritism, saying that prosecutors traditionally decline to move forward with such borderline cases.
After she was pulled over Thursday, her ever diplomatic dad released a statement noting Alexandra was under the limit and expressing his full support for her.
staugustine.com reported. The following was compiled from police reports collected from the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office (SJCS0), Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) and St. Augustine Police Department (SAPD):
JAIL LOG
* Who: Chalfont, Jeffery Allen, 27, St. Augustine. Charge: Three counts -- probation violation. (SJCSO)
* Who: Gombash, Fredric John, 38, Alachua. Charge: Two counts -- failure to appear. (SJCSO)
* Who: Guay, Richard Louis, 30, St. Augustine. Charge: DUI, driving while license suspended. (FHP)
* Who: Hall, Floyd Latavius, 19, St. Augustine. Charge: Sale of cocaine. (SJCSO)
* Who: Hay, April Dawn, 29, St. Augustine. Charge: Third-degree grand theft, out-of-county warrant. (SJCSO)
* Who: Juliano, Thomas David, 20, St. Augustine Beach. Charge: Resisting officer without violence, possession of liquor by someone under 21. (SAPD)
* Who: McCary, Richard, 35, Jacksonville. Charge: Fleeing or attempting to elude police, reckless driving. (FHP)
* Who: Ridenour, Jennifer Michelle, 20, St. Augustine. Charge: Failure to appear. (SJCSO)
* Who: Schmermund, Heather Ellen, 26, Hastings. Charge: Battery. (SJCSO)
* Who: Volk, Natalie Noelle, 20, St. Augustine. Charge: DUI with property damage, DUI, refusing to sign traffic citation. (SJCSO)
Catherine Pope, 54, of Radcliffe Street, Bristol, was charged with DUI Nov. 12 after police saw her driving the wrong way on West State Street around 10 p.m., authorities said.
Julia Jesu, 23, of Talbot Street, Easton, Md., was charged with DUI Nov. 13 around 2 a.m. after police stopped her for driving her vehicle without headlights illuminated, said police.
Michael Pitura, 28, of Newtown Road, Warminster, was charged with DUI Nov. 14 around 2:30 a.m. after an officer saw him speeding and tailgating on South Main Street, police said.
Kelly Rose, 19, of Harrison Avenue, Glenside, was charged with DUI, underage drinking and public drunkenness after police found her sleeping in a vehicle that was parked at a gas station on Route 202, police said.
Doylestown Twp.
Ario Rivera, 22, of Bryn Athyn, was charged with DUI and related offenses after police stopped him for driving 63 mph in a 45 mph zone on Route 611 on Nov. 13, police said.
Anderson Zega, 18, of the 400 block of Bellaire Avenue, Fort Washington, was charged with DUI and a related offense after police stopped him for swerving on Route 611 on Nov. 8, police said.
East Rockhill
Irene Karas, 53, of Mertztown, Berks County, was charged with DUI on Nov. 10 following a traffic stop on Ridge Road at 11:10 p.m.
Hilltown
Corinne Hefter, 28, of Southampton, was charged with DUI, police said. She was stopped Oct. 12 for driving erratically on Hilltown Pike around 2:15 a.m., said police.
William Irvin, 71, of Florida, was charged with DUI, police said. He was stopped Oct. 13 for driving erratically on Route 113 around 11:40 p.m., said police.
Eric Kotz, 24, of Lower State Road, North Wales, was charged with DUI after police investigated a disabled complaint on Limekiln Pike around 9:30 p.m. Oct. 14, authorities said.
Joanne Butler, 20, of Second Street, Perkasie, was charged with DUI, underage drinking and driving without insurance, police said. She was stopped Oct. 15 on Bethlehem Pike for driving a vehicle with a suspended license plate around 3 a.m., police said.
A 17-year-old male from Perkasie was charged with DUI, underage drinking and several traffic offenses after he was stopped on Bethlehem Pike for driving erratically around 12:25 a.m. Oct. 16, police said.
Amanda Guire, 24, of Philadelphia, was charged with DUI after she nearly drove into a police vehicle and a tow truck driver that were on scene of an accident on Bethlehem Pike around 3:15 a.m. Oct. 19, said police.
Gregory Stine, 39, of East Summit Street, Hilltown, was charged with DUI following an accident that occurred on Route 113 Nov. 7 around 4:50 p.m., police said. The crash happened near the Hilltown Plaza shopping center when Stine struck another vehicle after driving through a red light, police said.
Kimberly Ruttle, 43, of Walnut Street, Hilltown, was charged with DUI of a controlled substance following a Nov. 15 accident on Green Street, said police. Ruttle's vehicle struck another vehicle that was attempting to turn into a driveway around 11:30 a.m., police said.
Brittani James, 20, of Vine Street, Perkasie, was charged with DUI and underage drinking after police investigated a disabled vehicle on Blooming Glen Road around 12:30 a.m. Nov. 15, police said.
Horsham
Michael Wunsch, age not given, of Williamsburg, Va., was charged with DUI Nov. 13 following a two-vehicle accident at Horsham and Babylon roads at 8:13 p.m.
Milford
David P. Heiter, 56, of Quakertown, was charged with DUI on Nov. 12 following a traffic stop on Krammes Road and Route 663 at 7:50 p.m.
Eric J. Lauchman, no age given, of Quakertown, was charged with DUI Nov. 13 following a traffic stop on Kumry Road and Canary Road at 10:15 p.m.
Trumbauersville
Craig W. Sacks, 35, of Trumbauersville, was charged with DUI Nov. 13 following a traffic stop on Tollgate Road near Broad Street at 11:37 p.m.
Warwick
Eugene R. Wexler III, 39, of Warrington, was charged with DUI Nov. 7 following a traffic stop on Valley View Road at 2:35 a.m.
TAMPA -- tampabay.com reported. While you're giving thanks this week, law enforcement will be out in force to make sure those celebrations don't turn into an DUI-fueled hazard on the roads.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Florida Highway Patrol, Tampa Police Department, University of South Florida Police Department and the Plant City Police Department will have heightened DUI patrols throughout Hillsborough County this week. They'll focus on northern Hillsborough between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 5 a.m. Wednesday and eastern Hillsborough from 10 p.m. Wednesday to 5 a.m. Thursday.
Sheriff's spokesman Larry McKinnon said DUI-fueled crashes typically spike around the holidays, when people have time off from work and let loose at office parties or local taverns.
"We want to make sure those people driving to visit relatives aren't going to have to worry about drunk drivers," McKinnon said. "Just because it's a holiday and everybody else is off work doesn't mean we will be. We have to go out when we feel that dangerous driving is increased."
cbs5.com reported. Marin County law enforcement agencies are urging residents to keep the streets safe this Thanksgiving by drinking responsibly and designating a sober driver.
Special DUI saturation patrols will be sent out countywide Wednesday night to stop and arrest DUI drivers, police said.
In 2008, DUI contributed to 1,029 deaths in California, and left more than 30,000 people injured, according to police.
Authorities recommend residents plan a safe way home before they begin celebrating, designate a sober driver, and call a taxi or a sober friend if too impaired to drive.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- turnto23.com reports. The Thanksgiving holiday traditionally means heavy traffic on California's roadways. However, holiday travelers won't be the only ones making the trip this year. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) will mount a focused DUI campaign against safety belt violators during the Thanksgiving holiday.
"Wearing a seatbelt is the easiest and quickest way to save a life" said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. "It takes two seconds to buckle up."
Thirty-three people were killed on California roadways during the Thanksgiving holiday in 2008. Among the 20 vehicle occupants killed in CHP jurisdiction, 35 percent were not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.
In addition to keeping an eye out for vehicle occupants without seatbelts, officers will be especially watchful for DUI drivers during the period.
"Throughout the holiday travel season officers will also emphasize DUI enforcement to help remove these most dangerous drivers from California's roadways," said Commissioner Farrow.
Starting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25 through midnight, Sunday, November 29, the CHP will be implementing the annual Thanksgiving DUI enforcement period. During this time all available officers will be out on the road.
"The roadways get crowded during the four-day weekend and on the day after Thanksgiving with holiday shopping traffic congestion," said Commissioner Farrow. "The message is simple, drive safe, sober and remember to buckle up."
signonsandiego.com reported. A woman killed by a suspected DUI driver in an unincorporated area near El Cajon was identified Monday as Cydil Deann Kohlmeyer, 35, of El Cajon, the Medical Examiner's Office said.
Kohlmeyer was walking west on Pepper Drive near Somerlane Street about 9:20 p.m. when she was struck by a full-size Dodge pickup being driven by 51-year-old Deborah Felix, California Highway Patrol Officer Brian Pennings said.
The truck then hit a parked Ford Ranger and several mailboxes, plowed through two yards and a fence and crashed into a home, Pennings said
Felix tried to run away, but witnesses intervened and detained her until authorities arrived, Pennings said.
Kohlmeyer was taken to a hospital, where she underwent surgery but died just before midnight,
Felix was also taken to a hospital, where she was arrested. She will face several charges, Pennings said.
The recent crackdown on DUI cases is understandable -- alcohol contributes to a death every 33 minutes and costs the public billions of dollars each year in damages, loss of life and reduced productivity. If you've been arrested for DUI in Orange County, you need an aggressive, reputable and the top Orange County DUI attorney on your side.
mercurynews.com reported. Q I liked the article you wrote about the reduction in road deaths attributed to DUI. But do you think it is fair for people like me who have a DUI on their record -- that was supposed to remain for seven years, but was later changed to 10 years? Is there anything we can do to get this overturned so it doesn't include DUI convictions beyond seven years?
Robert Rosales
San Jose
A I don't think so. But there is a reason behind this change. Around one in four of 200,000 California drivers arrested each year on DUI charges are repeat offenders. By keeping a DUI charge on their record an extra three years, these drivers are forced to pay higher insurance fees, an expense that can run into hundreds of dollars a month. That may persuade some to avoid DUI when behind the wheel again.
whig.com reported. A Clayton woman has been charged with two counts of aggravated DUI in connection with a DUI crash that killed a Columbus woman early Saturday morning.
Authorities say the accused, Brianne R. Buss, 22, was driving east on U.S. 24 just east of Paloma when she collided head-on with a westbound vehicle driven by Lesa Dee Richmiller, 46.
Richmiller died of injuries suffered in the DUI accident. Adams County Sheriff's Department deputies said the crash occurred about 4:15 a.m.
Assistant State's Attorney Jennifer Cifaldi said the first aggravated DUI count against Buss alleges that the crash caused the death of Richmiller. The Class 2 felony is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The second aggravated DUI count alleges that the crash injured Richmiller's 13-year-old daughter, a passenger in her car. The girl suffered a broken arm and was taken to Blessing Hospital for treatment after the DUI crash.
Both sentences would be served at the same time if Buss is convicted or pleads guilty to both offenses.
Buss appeared in Adams County Dedicated DUI Court this morning with attorney Don Heck. Judge Mark Drummond set her bond at 10 percent of $100,000, and her next court date is Dec. 2.
Buss stood in the front row of the courtroom and quietly answered several questions. She walked with crutches and appeared to have her right foot in a cast.
Wearing an orange-and-white Adams County Jail jumpsuit, Buss had to be held up by bailiff Hank Pfeiffer during the hearing, but she sat down about halfway through the 10-minute appearance.
Heck said his client had no criminal history, has a 3-year-old child and is a full-time student at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo.
The accident remains under investigation, and an Illinois State Police traffic crash reconstructionist was called in to assist in the investigation.
Richmiller and Amy Sprenger operated the Paloma Diner. The pair had worked for the restaurant for about 13 years when they took over the business from Sandy Zimmerman in 2000. Richmiller reportedly was on her way to the restaurant to prepare breakfast for deer hunters when the crash occurred.
wtvq.com reported. 25-year-old, Samuel Rodriguez is in the Casey County Jail after crashing his car and leaving the scene of an accident Saturday night.
Police say Rodriguez, who is from Liberty, was driving his 2001 Dodge on KY 910, when his car left the road...he overcorrected then ran off the road and crashed into a fence.
Rodriguez has been charged with DUI, no operators license, no insurance, no registration and leaving the scene of an accident. The Liberty man also had a passenger inside, Lauren Thomas...She was in the car at the time of the crash....she was treated and released from the Casey County Hospital.
rgj.com reported. None of the 113 people convicted since 2000 of serious DUI charges in Washoe County were ordered to install an alcohol-testing device in their cars, despite a state law requiring judges to do so, a Reno Gazette-Journal investigation found.
Department of Parole and Probation officials and prosecutors have not recommended the installation of ignition interlock devices to judges at DUI sentencing, and judges have not been ordering them. A 1997 Nevada law requires them for all DUI convictions in which someone is seriously hurt or killed, the RGJ investigation found.
Laurel Stadler, president of the Nevada chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said she is outraged the law was being ignored.
"We have this tool that will take the decision to drive or not out of the hands of the drunk driver and put that decision in an unbiased mechanical third party, but no one's using it," she said. "The tool is proven. The tool is available, and yet it's being disregarded."
All of the 113 DUI cases analyzed by the Reno Gazette-Journal should have included the device in sentencing. In about half of those cases, the person convicted had previously been arrested for DUI and was a repeat offender, according to records reviewed by the RGJ.
The law also would apply in a person's third DUI conviction or when an offender's blood-alcohol content was exceptionally high. Prosecutors said they had 314 such cases last year in Washoe County.
States that require the use of the interlock device have seen a 65 percent reduction in repeat drunken-driving offenses, said Philip Cook, a professor of public policy at Duke University whose research focuses on alcohol control policies.
"They are useful when they are used," Cook said. "The problem is getting the judges to order them. Nothing about the interlock cures you, but it does delay the action we're all concerned about -- the interlock prevents people from driving drunk."
Why not?
Washoe District Judge Jerry Polaha said he has never ordered the device in a DUI death or injury case.
"I was not aware of it," Polaha said, when asked if he knew about the law. "Watch the next sentencing."
The next day he ordered the device in a case.
"It has never been in a pre-sentence report I've received from parole and probation," said Washoe District Judge Brent Adams. "If I was aware of it, it would be imposed on every single case."
Gail Powell, spokeswoman for the parole and probation department, said the agency has not been recommending it to judges because it is only allowed to recommend prison time, not additional requirements that an offender might have to follow once released from custody.
But Adams challenged that argument, saying parole and probation recommends special conditions for offenders all the time, especially for sex offenders who must register with local law enforcement and meet other requirements, so it should have in the DUI cases.
Assistant District Attorney John Helzer said prosecutors did not know about the law until the Reno Gazette-Journal began questioning why it wasn't being ordered. He said the office planned to change its approach.
"I believe this requirement has been overlooked by the Department of Parole and Probation since I do not recall ever seeing it referred to in a pre-sentence investigation report," Helzer said in an e-mail. "Similarly, I don't believe the courts have been aware of the mandates set forth in the statutes.
"Finally, I don't believe our office has brought the requirement up at sentencing for the same reason, that being, we were unaware it existed."
Helzer said he planned to direct Washoe County prosecutors to follow the law in the future. It was not clear whether his office had the ability to modify any sentences that have already been imposed, he said. But, he planned to check into that.
Nevada's ignition interlock law went into effect in 1997, after the Legislature amended a much weaker law on the books since 1989. The old law said a judge "may" require an interlock device for anyone convicted of DUI.
The new law states that a judge has the discretion to order the device on first and second drunken-driving convictions unless the driver's blood-alcohol level was .18 percent or above, which would then make it mandatory. It also says the devices must be ordered for all third drunken-driving convictions and DUI cases resulting in death or substantial bodily harm.
Those convicted of DUI causing injury or death are prohibited from obtaining a driver's license for three years after they complete their sentences, according to Tom Jacobs, spokesman for the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles.
The interlock requirement would begin once they are allowed to drive again, according to the law. Judges can order them to remain in vehicles from one to three years.
Six companies have been approved by the Nevada Department of Public Safety to provide interlock devices, but only about 800 devices are being used statewide, mostly in Southern Nevada, said John Johnasen, spokesman for the department's office of traffic safety. None are available in rural counties because representatives from the companies are not available to service the low numbers, he said.
"Right now, the majority of interlocks are in use only because they are a requirement in DUI court treatment programs," Johnasen said, referring to a speciality court for drunken-driving offenders who can get their felony conviction erased from their record if they succeed in a highly monitored court program that includes alcohol testing and counseling.
"They are not being sanctioned by a judge for people who aren't in treatment," he said. "I don't have a good answer for why those individuals who would fall under the mandatory interlock are not being ordered to do so."
National push and local enforcement questions
Forty-seven states have an ignition-interlock law, and nine have mandatory requirements for all drunken-driving offenses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. California will join that list of states requiring interlocks for all DUI cases in July and Hawaii in 2011.
The federal transportation bill being considered in Congress includes a stipulation that states require the use of interlocks in all DUI sentencings or risk losing federal highway moeny. Johansen said it was too early to tell what Nevada might lose because the federal bill is still being debated. The amount could run in the millions, he said.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving is pushing nationally for interlocks to be ordered for all DUI offenses.
Stadler, with MADD, said Nevada's 24-hour alcohol availability makes setting limits all the more important. MADD's national initiative is to have every state require interlock devices in all drunken-driving cases.
"For safety's sake, this is a piece of technology that we have to prevent drunk drivers from starting the car," she said.
Some DUI lawyers have argued against the device for the first-time drunken-driving offenses because of the cost, said Deputy Public Defender Biray Dogan. People convicted of DUI face a long list of financial demands, including $40 for the victim impact panel, up to $30 per week for classes, and $100 for an evaluation if their blood-alcohol content was above 0.18 percent.
"I don't want these people set up for failure," Dogan said.
Cook from Duke University discounts that argument, saying some people with drinking problems spend that much each month on alcoholic beverages.
"If it helps them cut down or stop drinking, they'll be ahead financially," Cook said.
When addressing cost concerns, states have different options, Cook said. New Mexico, for example, has been a leader in interlock legislation and has created a special state fund, paid for with DUI fines, to help cover the cost of the devices.
Judge Polaha, after ordering it for the first time, said he was concerned about how the requirement would be enforced on offenders who have completed their parole time.
"If there is no parole period, there won't be anyone watching the individuals and such a condition will be ignored," he said in an e-mail. "Any cop who would stop such a person would have no way of knowing that such a condition has been imposed."
Cook said in most states with mandatory interlock laws, that responsibility falls to the department of motor vehicles.
Anyone ordered to install the device wouldn't be able to get a license without proving its installation. Nevada is among the states that requires this.
Some states require that driver's licenses say whether interlock must be installed, Cook said. That way, the requirement is clear if the driver is stopped by a police officer, he said.
"The bottom line is that taking someone's license away will not stop them from driving," said Doug Konersman, a Reno representative for the Drager Interlock company. "Look at how many people are arrested each day for driving with a suspended license."
"The interlock is the only way to make sure they don't drive."
examiner.com reported. A Princeton teacher was arrested over the weekend for DUI when police say her blood alcohol level was more then four times the legal limit while she was behind the wheel.
Anna McBride, 26, was arrested for DUI, Saturday after she reportedly blew a .357, well over the Ohio legal limit of .08.
According to Cincinnati police, McBride made matters much worse when she became combative at the police station. After numerous attempts to allow McBride to call for a ride home, the teacher was booked into the Justice Center due to her dangerously high blood alcohol level.
According to the Colorado State University Department of DUI and Drug Prevention and Education, a blood alcohol level of .35% can render a person unconscious and even cause death.
Police listed McBride's employer as Princeton Schools. According to the school district, McBride was hired in August as a speech and language pathologist at the high school.
kansascw.com reported. The Wichita Police Department and other groups are teaming up to crack down on DUI between during the holidays.
Police say they're are doing two things to combat DUI: looking for them and encouraging citizens to report people who may be DUI.
The project launches Monday. Wichita high school students will tie red ribbons to cars at their schools.
The DUI Victims Center of Kansas will tie red ribbons to patrol cars.
"Every time you see a red ribbon on a car that should be a reminder to be on the lookout for drunk drivers," says Mary Ann Khoury, director of the DUI Victims Center of Kansas.
The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office is also involved in the campaign. It will do its part by adding extra DUI patrols. It says an additional 14 deputies will patrol Sedgwick County through November 29th.
A father was accused of DUI with his child in the car on Long Island.
Ivan llagzha of Patchogue was charged with DUI and endangering the welfare of a child.
Suffolk County police said he was drunk, and his five-year-old daughter was not in a child safety seat when he was pulled over Saturday morning.
The arrest came just three days after Governor Paterson signed Leandra's Law, which makes DUI with a child in a car a felony.
The law was named for the 11-year-old New York girl killed in a DUI crash last month.
"We are extremely pleased that Gov. Paterson, the State Senate and the Assembly have passed Leandra's Law. I want to thank them all for taking action on such an important issue," said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. "Now, when anyone dares to get behind the wheel while DUI with a child in the car, they will have to endure the harshest of penalties to ever face New York State drivers. It is tragic that it had to take the loss of Leandra Rosado's life in order for this to come to our attention and for action to be taken."
Leandra's father, Lenny Rosado, was in Albany on Tuesday to push for the immediate passage of the DUI bill.
"I guarantee you that my daughter's death will not be in vain," he said. "She is here now to protect all our children, and anyone else who is a victim of DUI."
Leandra died Oct. 11 along the West Side Highway when an allegedly drunk adult rolled a van full of children killing her and injuring her six friends. The law now makes it an automatic felony on the first offense DUI with a person under the age of 15, setting the blood-alcohol level at .08.
It also requires a mandatory interlock for all people convicted of any kind of DUI in the state. The devices disable a car's ignition if alcohol is detected in the driver's breath and the law makes it an additional crime to circumvent the device or tamper with it in any way.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who had been holding up the bill's passage, said Tuesday that's the part of the law he's most enthusiastic about.
"It raises the penalties, it acts as a deterrent, but the most practical deterrent is the interlock device," he said. "We came to agreement that in memory of Leandra, we would advance DUI legislation that is tougher and more comprehensive than any that currently exists."
The woman accused of DUI in the crash that killed Leandra has been indicted for manslaughter as well. She could face 15 years in prison if convicted.
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - khq.com reported. Boise Police officers say they arrested 36 people for DUI following Boise State University's 63-25 drubbing of the University of Idaho in the state capital on Saturday afternoon.
The DUI arrests came between 5:00 p.m. Saturday and 4:00 a.m. Sunday.
Fifteen additional DUI arrests came for offenses like driving without privileges, marijuana possession, possession of drug paraphernalia and minors in consumption of alcohol.
This was on top of 125 citations issued to adults who were drinking in public in prohibited areas.
Police say that final figure is higher than the average BSU game day in Boise, but lower than the 164 citations written for open-container violations during the BSU-Oregon game in early September.
THEFTSomeone stole tractor weights, an engine and scrap metal between Nov. 1 and 15 from a property in the 15000 block of Gougar Road.
STOLEN TOOLS Someone stole a generator, chain saw, leaf blower, tools, livestock feed and other items between Nov. 7 and 9 from a shed and barn in the 16000 block of Cedar Road.
SMASHING PUMPKIN Someone threw a pumpkin at a vehicle in the 13000 block of Farm View Street on Nov. 12, denting the side door and breaking a taillight.
SUSPENDED LICENSE Christopher Kula, 33, 13248 Maverick Trail, Lockport, was charged with DUI and no insurance after a Nov. 12 stop near 159th Street and Parker Road, police said.
SUSPENDED LICENSE Adam Phillips, 26, 16540 Tameling Drive, Homer Glen, was charged with DUI and no insurance after he was stopped Nov. 13 near 143rd Street and Lemont Road, police said.
ORLAND PARK
DUI ARREST David Eaton, 36, 15834 Orlan Brook Drive, Orland Park, was charged with DUI, operating an uninsured vehicle and improper lane use after a stop Oct. 30 in the 14700 block of LaGrange Road, police said.
DUI CHARGE David Rivas, 40, of Lake In the Hills, was charged with DUI, driving on a suspended license, improper lane use, failure to yield to an emergency vehicle and no rear plate light after he was stopped Oct. 31 at LaGrange Road and Southmoor Drive, police said.
SUSPENDED LICENSE Jilandre Lawton, 20, 8301 S. 88th Ave., Justice, was charged with driving on a suspended license and suspended registration after a stop Oct. 31 in the 14300 block of LaGrange Road, police said.
DUI CASE Noe Reyes, 32, of Glendale Heights, was charged with drunken driving, speeding and improper parking on the roadway after he was stopped Nov. 1 in the 7300 block of 159th Street, police said.
SUSPENDED LICENSE Keith Libner, 22, 4620 107th St., Oak Lawn, was charged with DUI, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, operating an uninsured vehicle and having obstructed windows after a Nov. 1 stop in the 9500 block of 151st Street, police said.
RETAIL THEFT Jasmine Singleton, 17, 15459 Millard Ave., Markham, and Brittany Foxx, 17, 14519 Palmer Drive, Posen, were charged with retail theft after they stole $108 in merchandise Nov. 1 from Sears in the Orland Square Mall, police said.
NO LICENSE Alberto C. Tapia, 35, 9961 El Cameno Real 2W, Orland Park, was charged with driving without a valid license after a Nov. 3 stop in the 18400 block of LaGrange Road, police said.
RETAIL THEFTLakonica Walker, 28, 16729 Anthony Ave., Hazel Crest, and John Thomas, 28, 16805 Manor Drive, South Holland, were charged with retail theft after they stole $254 in merchandise Nov. 3 from Sears at Orland Square mall, police said.
RECKLESS DRIVING Nashouh Abdelhadi, 17, 10601 Wood Duck Lane, Orland Park, was charged with DUI, disobeying a traffic light and using a radar/laser jamming device after a stop Nov. 3 in the 16200 block of LaGrange Road, police said.
WARRANT ARRESTJohn Rottman, 56, 7921 W. 157th St., Orland Park, was arrested Nov. 4 on an Orland Park warrant at his home, police said.
NO LICENSE Angel Luna Hernandez, 19, 9815 151st St., Orland Park, was charged with driving without a valid license, no proof of insurance, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and improper lane use after a minor accident Nov. 5 in the 9600 block of 151st Street, police said.
DUI ARRESTArlene Brostrom, 18105 Lake Shore Drive, Orland Park, was charged with drunken driving, driving on a suspended license, following too closely and failure to yield after she struck a garbage truck Nov. 6 in the 11300 block of 179th Street, police said. They said she also was arrested on a Cook County warrant.
DUI ALLEGED Jovita Einikiene, 33, 9516 Keeler Ave., Oak Lawn, was charged with DUI, driving without a valid license and improper lane use after a Nov. 8 stop at Orlan Brook Drive and Shagbark Lane, police said.
NO LICENSE Pablo Castillo, 2743 W. Catalpa Ave., Chicago, was charged with driving without a valid license, having expired registration and improper use of registration after a stop Nov. 9 in the 16300 block of LaGrange Road, police said.
DUI CASE Sergio Delcarmen, 23, 9825 W. 144th St., Orland Park, was charged with drunk driving, driving without a valid license and making an improper turn after a Nov. 9 stop in the 15900 block of LaGrange Road, police said.
NO LICENSE Ismael Luna Perez, 26, 2421 Collins St., Blue Island, was charged with driving without a valid license and having tinted windows after he was stopped Nov. 9 in the 15900 block of Park Hill Drive, police said.
From KCPD: The Kansas City Missouri Police Department conducted a DUI Sobriety Checkpoint on November 20, 2009 from 2300 hours to 0400 hours at I 70 & Prospect EB Exit Ramp, and I 70 & Van Brunt EB Exit Ramp. Eastbound traffic was checked for DUI with a total of 154 vehicles stopped. A total number of 4 DUI arrests were made, along with a Felony charge of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, and Resist Arrest.
pressdemocrat.com reported. A DUI checkpoint late Saturday night netted no suspected DUI drivers but police gave 41 citations for driving either without a license or with a suspended license.
The DUI checkpoint was held from 7 p.m. Saturday to 12:30 a.m. Sunday at Guerneville road and Ridley Avenue in west Santa Rosa.
Santa Rosa Sgt. Rich Celli reported 40 cars were taken from drivers and will be held 30 days.
A total of 545 cars came through the DUI checkpoint. Officers directed 58 drivers off to the side for an evaluation to see if they were sober or to check their license.
Five people were given DUI sobriety tests and they all passed, Celli said.
But 36 drivers were found to have no license, either because they never obtained a license or had one and subsequently lost it due to violations. Five more drivers were operating their cars even though their licenses had been suspended for DUI.
Officers took two drivers into custody because they were wanted for outstanding arrest warrants. Two more people were found to have drugs in their car and were arrested on suspicion of drug possession, Celli said.
mercurynews.com reported. A 50-year-old man was arrested for the 13th time for DUI following a crash in Santa Rosa Friday evening, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Robert James Feenan, a Santa Rosa resident, was arrested following a non-injury DUI crash on the off-ramp to Stony Point Road from state Highway 12, according to the CHP.
Feenan was determined to be DUI and arrested. He had been identified recently by the CHP as a habitual DUI offender, having been arrested 12 previous times for DUI in Humboldt and Sonoma counties since 1983, according to the CHP.
The agency had been actively seeking him to monitor him and prevent him from violating his probation.
Feenan was booked into Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of DUI with a prior felony DUI conviction, driving on a suspended license, and violation of probation, according to the CHP. The vehicle he was driving was also impounded.
FAIRHOPE, Ala. - fox10tv.com reported. A DUI suspect pleaded guilty in court Friday. He's accused of injuring three people while DUI driving earlier this year.
Bradford Maples was escorted before a Baldwin County judge. He told the court that he is the man responsible for DUI and hitting three people on bikes.
One of the victims, Tracey Wall, spoke with FOX10 News right after the DUI accident.
"I wish I could tell you exactly what happened, but I don't know. From what I'm told the car hit me, and I went through the windshield and bounced back a couple times, and wound up on the grass," said Wall, back in August.
The accident happened on County Road 1 near Fairhope.
Prosecutors say all the victims want Maples to be punished for DUI.
"They also wanted to make sure he received some type of treatment. Otherwise he will be back to Bay Minette in our county jail," said Prosecutor Joe Norton.
Maples' defense team did not want to speak with FOX10 Friday. But the 28-year-old did say this to the judge:
"I'd like to apologize to the victims for the harm I've caused them."
Deputies then walked Maples back to jail.
However, prosecutors say he can control his own future.
"He is at a point in his life where this can be a life-altering event that puts him back on the road to recovery, and as a functioning member of society again," said Maples.
Maples pleaded guilty to three assault charges and one charge of driving under the influence of alcohol. He will serve 69 says in jail and must go to a treatment facility for up to eight weeks.
pressdemocrat.com reported. A 12-time DUI offender was being held without bail Saturday after his DUI arrest a day earlier in connection with a non-injury DUI crash on Highway 12 at Stony Point Road in Santa Rosa.
Authorities say he was driving drunk.
Santa Rosa resident Robert James Feenan, 50, also is suspected of violating parole and driving with a suspended license in connection with Friday's 5 p.m. DUI collision.
"This is his 13th DUI arrest," said Petaluma Police Sgt. Ken Savano, who runs his department's Habitual DUI Offender Stakeout Program and coordinates Sonoma County's AVOID the 13 Sonoma County DUI Task Force.
"Here in Sonoma County, I think he's holding the record right now," Savano said. "We're just glad he's back in custody. He's obviously got a problem."
Before the accident, authorities had been trying to pinpoint an accurate address for Feenan so they could monitor his driving to ensure he did not present a risk to the public, Savano said.
Feenan's DUI records date back to 1983 in Humboldt County. His remaining arrests were in Sonoma County, the last - until Friday - in the summer of 2008.
No one was injured when Fennan crashed on the Highway 12 off-ramp Friday, Savano said. His car was impounded, however, and Feenan was arrested and jailed.
PATCHOGUE, N.Y. (WPIX) - wpix.com reported. A Long Island man is under arrest after a DUI with his 5-year-old daughter in the back seat.
Ivan Llagzha, 36, is charged with DUI and endangering the welfare of a child.
Cops spotted him driving erratically on South Ocean Avenue in Patchogue at around 2:40am Saturday. He was stopped by Highway Patrol's specialist DUI team.
The officer said Llagzha was drunk behind the wheel of his '97 Honda and that his daughter was in the car without a car seat.
The little girl has been turned over to her mother. Her father was reported to child protective services, authorities said.
PHOENIX, AZ -- abc15.com reported. As the holidays approach, the families of dozens of victims killed by DUI drivers are sending a powerful message aimed at stopping people who drink and drive.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) held a candlelight vigil hosted by ABC15's Steve Irvin, at the Japanese Friendship Garden Saturday.
"You don't know until it happens to you," said Traci Smith, a mother who lost her two young sons when the family was hit by a DUI driver.
Both boys died.
Traci's husband, Frank, said their lives fell apart after they lost their children in January.
"It was like we had our house, and our house just got wiped out," he said. "And the only things we can build are the walls. We'll never have a roof. Our two boys meant everything to us."
Few people can understand the Smiths' anguish, but Saturday they had the company of other families who knew their pain.
"MADD is a great organization, but I wish I wasn't part of it," said JoAnne Brown, whose daughter was killed by a DUI driver three years ago.
"Don't take anything for granted. I trusted my daughter. I knew she would do right things, but I didn't know about another person being out there, not being responsible, and that ended up ending her life," said Brown.
According to MADD, three in every 10 Americans will be involved in a DUI-related accident at some time in their lives.
The faces of those who have been killed by dui drivers are memorialized on quilts, message boards and slide shows by the families who grieve every day.
"I just hope that every mom and dad will not have to go through what we had to go through," said Brown.
Through their hardship, the Smiths also have a clear message to hammer home.
"If you plan ahead that much, to go out and drink, then plan that much to get a driver," said Frank Smith.
AUSTELL, Ga. -- cbsatlanta.com reported. Shameyka Welch's family is heartbroken and outraged. She is a mother of two, a sister to seven younger siblings and the victim of a DUI.
Shameyka, her boyfriend and their two children were hit driving home on I-20 early Saturday morning. They were in their Ford Taurus and coming at them was a Toyota Camry. The driver was drunk and driving the wrong way. The Camry was driving West in the Eastbound lanes. The cars collided around Langhorn Street.
Edrika Ford was at a family gathering with her sister the night before.
"We had a good time. That was the last time I seen here by the time we get home five minutes later we received a phone call," said Ford.
Police arrested Robert Ayiteyfio for DUI. They said he acted intoxicated. When they tried questioning him, he even tried to run.
Sameyka's close friend Sydnee Fraisar said, "For him to not care that he killed someone, it's really upsetting."
Ayiteyfio is being held without bond. He faces several charges: homicide by a vehicle, hit and run, driving under the influence and driving the wrong way.
Shameyka was 24-years-old. Her girls are 2 and 10 months. The girls are at Egleston Children's Hospital. Their father, Josh Johnson, is at Grady. They have undergone surgeries for different injuries and the family says they should all physically be OK.
"They won't have no memory of her they won't have no memory of her it's real sad," said Fraisar.
"She wouldn't hurt nobody she didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve this," said Ford.
Her extended family has nothing to say right now to the man accused of DUI. They want him to remember her face.
While Atlanta police were investigating the DUI crash, one of their officers was hit. An officer was sitting in her car when a truck hit the car. She was taken to Grady and is expected to be o.k. The driver of the truck faces DUI charges in the crash.
scpr.org/news reported. A South Korean man pleaded guilty today to manslaughter for a 2005 freeway crash while DUI, killing a motorcyclist. He had allegedly fled the scene of the crime for South Korea, before being extradited back to the United States.
Youn Bum Lee, 42, formerly of Irvine, pleaded guilty to one felony count of vehicular manslaughter by unlawful act with gross negligence while intoxicated, with a longer sentence for fleeing the scene of the crime. He is expected to be sentenced to nine years in state prison.
According to the Orange County CRIMINAL Attorney's Office, at approximately 8 p.m. on Oct. 18, 2005, Lee attended a company sponsored dinner at Seoul Oak Korean BBQ Restaurant in Garden Grove with six coworkers from Hyundai. The group consumed 14 bottles of a distilled Korean rice wine, soju, before going to a nearby karaoke bar.
Lee allegedly consumed more alcohol at the karaoke bar before getting into his black company-issued Hyundai SUV at approximately 12:05 a.m. Lee drove with his headlights off on State Route 22 onto State Route 55 heading south, then veered into the carpool lane and crashed into the center median.
Lee's SUV came to a stop in the carpool lane, where motorcyclist Ryan Dallas Cook, 23, of Fountain Valley, was unable to stop in time to avoid crashing into Lee's car. Cook was thrown from his motorcycle, then run over by several other vehicles. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Lee fled the scene.
Lee went to work at Hyundai later that morning and attempted to hide evidence of the DUI crash, including a shattered back windshield, blood, hair, and other human tissue from Cook. Lee consulted with a coworker and with Hyundai's General counsel; the coworker and a supervisor drove Lee to Los Angeles International airport that afternoon. Lee boarded a red eye flight that night on Korean Air to Seoul, South Korea, leaving his wife and child behind.
The Orange County D.A. submitted a request for extradition in September 2008; Lee was arrested by South Korean authorities on Dec. 2, 2008, and extradited to Orange County on Jan. 30, 2009.
The Orange County D.A. worked with Hyundai to locate a witness who they could not subpoena because he lives in South Korea. On July 22, 2009, the witness, Jason Ryu, testified for three hours
STOCKTON - The Police Department will hold checkpoints tonight and Saturday to catch drunken drivers.
The checkpoint starts at 6 p.m. and continues until 2 a.m. It will be set up in the area of Roosevelt Street and Wilson Way. On Saturday, the checkpoint will be at March Lane and Holiday Drive during the same hours.
Staffing at the checkpoints is paid for by a grant from the state Office of Traffic Safety.
Police earn grant for traffic patrols
STOCKTON - recordnet.com reported. The Police Department again this year has been awarded a grant for special DUI traffic enforcement, which will be carried out throughout the year.
The $352,000 DUI grant from the state Office of Traffic Safety is to fight alcohol and drug-impaired driving, and to reduce fatal and DUI injury collisions resulting from both.
This year, the DUI grant will fund additional enforcement of motorcycle safety. In 1998, 204 motorcyclists in California were killed in DUI collisions; that number rose to 560 in 2008.
The Stockton Police Department's efforts will include additional patrols and strenuous enforcement of traffic violations associated with collisions involving motorcycles.
mysuburbanlife.com reported. The Westmont Police Department will join numerous law enforcement agencies throughout Illinois during the next few weeks in a crackdown on drivers operating DUI and those not wearing their seat belts.
The extra DUI enforcement period will start Nov. 13 and will conclude Dec. 31. During that time, officers will take a zero tolerance approach to DUI related and seat belt violations, police said,
According to police, DUI traffic crashes are the leading cause of death among young people. Half of those killed would be alive today if they simply put on their safety belt, and many deadly crashes are DUI related. This is why the Westmont Police Department will participate in this DUI enforcement activity, said Deputy Police Chief Randy King.
"It is our hope that drivers will read this message and decide to not drive if they have been drinking, rather than get arrested for DUI, and help us to accomplish our goal of making the roadways safer for all to use," King said.
swrnn.com reported. The Temecula Police Department is using money from a $79,000 grant to try and reduce DUI-related accidents, according to a news release from Sgt. Mark Leggett.
The grant was awarded by the California Office of Traffic Safety. The special DUI Enforcement and Awareness grant is to assist in efforts to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol and other drug related DUI collisions, Leggett said.
The grant activities will specifically target impaired driving offenders as well as educate the public on the dangers of DUI driving. This will be done through the use of driving under the influence/driver's license checkpoints, warrant services and stakeouts for repeat DUI offenders, saturation patrols and court stings targeting DUI offenders with suspended or revoked driver's licenses who get behind the wheel after leaving court, Leggett said.
Officers will be conducting specialized enforcement efforts throughout the course of the next year, he said. Extra officers will be on duty patrolling areas frequented by motorcyclists. The sergeant said officers will be cracking down on traffic violations made by motorcyclists and other vehicle drivers.
blogs.nashvillescene.com reported. David Rhodes died of pneumonia at age 70 just a few weeks ago, some six months after a devastating DUI car accident on an Orange County, Calif. freeway left him in the hospital for three months with broken ribs, a broken arm and leg and pins in his vertebrae, the OC Weeklyreports.
According to the paper, the Vietnam vet, who is to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, never fully regained his health.
And who is the DUI driver who so broke this man's body? None other than Music City Church pastor and Trinity Broadcasting Network contributor Steve Galiher. According to the report, on April 26 Galiher was speeding "at least over 85 miles per hour in his company-owned BMW...when he smashed into a car, causing it to overturn twice."
The officer on the scene said he smelled a strong odor of alcohol emanating from Galiher, who claimed he'd only had two glasses of red wine. He was in town for the religious industrial complex's Behind the Scenes with Paul Crouch. Galiher was charged on suspicion of DUI resulting in an injury.
A spokeswoman for the Orange County Criminal Attorney said her office is not investigating Rhodes' death to determine whether manslaughter charges against Galiher are appropriate. She said medical evidence proving a causal link could initiate an investigation, but added that a call from little ol' Pith isn't enough to get the ball rolling.
KALAMAZOO COUNTY, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - wwmt.com reported. Scott Arkovitz is facing serious legal trouble after being arrested twice in three days for DUI; the second time going the wrong way down the highway.
Around 1:30 Friday morning, several people called 911 after they passed a driver going south on the northbound lanes of 131 near H Avenue.
Deputies pulled the car over near Stadium Drive, the same area where they arrested Arkovitz on Wednesday morning for DUI.
Arkovitz was arraigned Friday in a Kalamazoo County courtroom.
Until his recent DUI arrests, the Secretary of State says Arkovitz only had two points on his license. Friday afternoon, Arkovitz learned that he could lose that license, and that he's facing the possibility of jail time.
"He admitted he was out drinking with friends," said Sheriff Richard Fuller of the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Department.
In court on Friday, a district judge charged Arkovitz with DUI and a bond violation from Wednesday's arrest, a DUI from going the wrong way on Stadium Drive. Two days previously a judge had told Arkovitz that he couldn't drink.
"We know that he was out with friends, so those friends, it was my wish that those friends had said you don't drive," said Sheriff Fuller.
That was the judge's wish as well.
Arkovitz is a Western Michigan University student, and just 19 years old. If he gets on bond, he'll have to go on alcoholic tether to prove to the judge that he's staying clean.
Sheriff Fuller says the community is fortunate that Arkovitz didn't hurt anyone.
"Even if he was of age, this person on both DUI offenses was nearly double over the illegal limit, or nearly triple over the illegal limit," said Sheriff Fuller.
Arkovitz is currently in the Kalamazoo County Jail on two $10,000 bonds, one for violating Wednesday's bond, and the other for Friday morning's DUI.
If Arkovitz gets out, he'll have to wear a tether around his ankle that will track if he goes into a bar. He'll also have to submit to regular blood testing.
lasvegassun.com reported. With the holiday season approaching and roads becoming more congested, drivers are being encouraged to be careful and refrain from drinking and driving.
Friday morning, Hispanic residents gathered at the Academy of Human Development, 235 N. Eastern Avenue, to learn about DUI traffic safety and U.S. laws.
Attendees were given statistics about DUI, seat belt use and intersection traffic fatalities to encourage them to be responsible while driving, especially over the holidays.
"Some Latinos don't like to wear seat belts or have car seats for their children because it's their culture," said Yvonne Griebling of the Academy of Human Development. "We are trying to emphasize and push the fact that the law is not the same here."
Director Arcadio Bolonas said the Academy of Human Development is the first organization created in Nevada that is focused on educating Hispanics about DUI road safety.
On Friday, Bolonas gave an hour-long presentation to kick off the organization's campaign to improving Nevada's DUI problem.
"There is no excuse for DUI," he said. "We have the audacity to provide education and awareness in a language (they) use."
He said campaigns like Click It Or Ticket might help some people remember to buckle up, but it confuses some Hispanics who do not know what it means. "It's so hard for us to translate because we have no previous translation from our country," Bolonas said.
Sandy Heverly, executive director of STOP DUI, said one of the greatest issues Nevada faces is drunk driving.
Nationwide, two people are killed every hour in a drunk driving accident and one person is injured every minute because of a DUI, said Heverly, who was at the event.
"We need to pay attention during the holidays," she said. "We see a significant increase in DUIs through Jan. 1."
Bolonas said the Academy of Human Development will be providing information and hosting events to improve traffic safety each month. For more information visit the Web site www.ahdlv.org
The Las Vegas Metro Police Department will be holding a DUI sobriety checkpoint this Saturday, Nov. 21 from 7 p.m. until 3 a.m. in the area of Flamingo and Lindell.
ny1.com reported. Little more than a month after the latest New Yorker of the Week lost his 11-year-old daughter in an alleged DUI incident, he fought for state lawmakers to pass one of the nation's toughest drunk driving laws. NY1's Bobby Cuza filed the following report.
A little more than a month ago, Lenny Rosado's 11-year-old daughter Leandra died in a DUI car crash. Police say the woman who was driving was drunk.
On Wednesday, Lenny Rosado stood with lawmakers after they had passed the toughest drunk driving law in the nation.
"My daughter's name and Leandra's Law will save lives from here on," said Rosado, before Governor David Paterson signed the bill.
"Lenny Rosado has become in the last few weeks a parent who lost his child but became a great advocate for public safety," said Paterson.
Leandra Rosado and six other children were on their way to a slumber party when the adult driver, Carmen Huertas, lost control of the car. Police later said Huertas had a blood alcohol level way over the legal limit but not enough on its own to qualify as a felony.
The morning his daughter died, Lenny Rosado, who is a single parent, vowed to push for tougher laws on DUI.
"I am going to step out of my way to go to City Hall and go to Congress and even if I have to take a bus to go to the White House to meet with Mr. Obama, there's got to be a bigger penalty for DUI," said Rosado.
Now, in New York State, there is. The Child Passenger Protection Act, also known as "Leandra's Law," makes it a felony in New York State to drive drunk or under the influence of drugs with a child in the vehicle, whether there is an accident or not.
It could mean up to 25 years in prison.
"To Lenny, I don't know how you stand here. I am not sure, as a father of a 16-year-old, I could be standing here if I had befallen the same challenge that you have," said Senate President Pro Tempore Malcolm Smith. "But on behalf of the 19 million people of this state, and behalf of those who I know wish this DUI bill was in place earlier, I want to say thank you."
While legislators in Albany can barely agree on anything, Rosado was able to get them to unite behind his crusade.
"I appreciate that everyone got together here, put aside all politics, and bonded together as human beings," said Lenny Rosado.
Rosado said he will continue to educate and fight for a national law to crack down on DUI.
"When it comes to the substance abuse of alcohol and drugs and DUI, hopefully we can take it all the way up, straight to the White House," said Rosado.
So, for turning tragedy into triumph and inspiring legislators to put politics aside and do the right thing, Lenny Rosado is the latest New Yorker of the Week.
www.examiner.com reported. The War on Drunk Driving has gone too far. The highly-publicized DUI arrest yesterday of Alexandra Kerry, daughter of U.S. Senator John Kerry, provides prima facie evidence.
Miss Kerry, a 36-year old film producer and director, was stopped by Los Angeles police while motoring in Hollywood. They detained her on suspicion of DUI.
When they hauled her into the police station and made her take a breathalyser test, she came in under the legal limit. Yet they still booked her on charges of DUI.
Miss Kerry's DUI arrest is wrong on several levels.
First of all, one has to question the arresting officers' pretext for stopping the woman in the first place. They claim that she "violated a traffic law which got their attention."
So what did she do? Did she run a red light? Was she speeding? Was she driving alone in the car pool lane?
Nope, none of the above. She was driving a vehicle with expired tags.
And just how intoxicated was Miss Kerry? Was she so far over California's legal limit that she fell out of her car stinking drunk? Was she behaving erratically, say, flashing onlookers like notorious celebrity drunks Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan?
No and no. In fact, Miss Kerry had a blood alcohol level of 0.6 percent, which actually is 0.2 percent below California's legal limit.
The daughter of the Massachusetts senator and 2004 Democrat presidential nominee was charged with DUI, according to an LA police department spokesperson, because, under California law, a person can be prosecuted for DUI - even if they are not legally drunk - if they simply are judged by police to have operated their vehicle unsafely due to alcohol.
If Miss Kerry ultimately is convicted of DUI, it will mark an ominous new milestone in the War on Drunk Driving.
For no matter how little a person drinks before getting behind the wheel - a bottle of beer, a glass of wine, even a couple tablespoons of cough syrup - he or she could be pulled over by police and arrested on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol.
That should be troubling to all of us - drinkers and non-drinkers alike - who cherish our civil liberties.
The Orange County Register reported on Orange County DUI spotting. LAKE FOREST - Some drivers might not notice when they've had one or three too many drinks to get behind the wheel, but Deputy Dallas Hennessy can spot it from a mile away.
Hennessy has been patrolling Lake Forest since February 2007 and he's developed a knack to catch the not so subtle, and the quite obvious, signs of an Orange County DUI driver with too many drinks under their belt. More than 100 times in 2007, Hennessy pulled over Orange County DUI drivers from the roads and, after investigating, uttered the same words over and over again. "You made a bad decision tonight."
Hennessy is the only deputy with the Orange County Sheriff's Department who has single-handedly generated more than 100 Orange County DUI arrests in a year, and police services in Lake Forest have taken advantage of the deputy's eye to continue an effort to take drunken drivers off the streets. In 2007, Lake Forest led cities that contract with the Sheriff's Department in the number in Orange County DUI arrests, with 266. Stanton followed as a distant second with 188, and Dana Point reported 182.
Instead of stationary checkpoints, the Sheriff's Department in Lake Forest has cracked down by doing "saturation patrols" - increasing the number of deputies on the road and having Hennessy focus entirely on finding drunken drivers, said Lt. Don Barnes, chief of police services for Lake Forest.
"It's a simple philosophy," Barnes said. "We want people to not drink and drive."
For five weekends following Thanksgiving, Lake Forest put the strategy in place, sending Hennessy out for 12-hour graveyard shifts.
The strategy has increases the number of DUI arrests in the city, although it's difficult to distinguish if saturation patrols or checkpoints are more effective in preventing drivers from getting behind the wheel after a night of heavy drinking.
Checkpoints are visible and lets residents and party-goers know that law enforcement is looking for intoxicated drivers, which could persuade some to give up the keys, said Deputy Paul Wade, of the sheriff's traffic division. On the other hand, saturation patrols are stealthier.
During the holiday season, the Orange County Sheriff's Department conducted a checkpoint on Nov. 14 in San Clemente. A week later, another was conducted in San Juan Capistrano, and another in Mission Viejo a week after that. During the three checkpoints, conducted from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m., deputies made no DUI arrests.
thedailystar.com reported. Several area officials who address drunk-driving issues applauded passage of a state law that increases the penalty for people who drive drunk with children.
Leandra's Law creates a new crime, aggravated DUI with a child, state Sen. James Seward, R-Milford, said in a media release on the law's passage.
Anyone who drives drunk with a child younger than 16 would be charged with a class E felony and faces up to four years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000, he said.
The legislation is named for 11-year-old Leandra Rosado, who was killed in October after a car driven by the mother of one of her friends was overturned on
the Henry Hudson Parkway.
The driver was charged only with misdemeanor DUI crimes, carrying a lesser sentence and spurring the calls for the stronger legislation, Seward said.
It also requires any person convicted of DUI or related crimes to install an ignition system that will prevent the car from starting if the driver's breath shows he or she is above the legal blood-alcohol limit. Violating that would be a class A misdemeanor.
"I think it's a good thing anytime you can get some preventive measures," said David Ramsey, executive director of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council of Delaware County.
"With a law like this, there is usually a honeymoon, where there is compliance and numbers come down," he said.
If the enforcement is not consistent, "the behavior will creep back," he said.
The interlock system is an important feature in making sure people obey the law, he said.
Oneonta High School Students Against Destructive Decisions adviser Catherine Lynch said it's unfortunate that tragedies have to happen before DUI laws are made tougher. But sometimes that is what it takes before a problem is addressed, she said.
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All DUI laws should be made tougher, but she was hopeful that this action will make people think twice in this situation.
Delaware County Stop DUI Coordinator Lisa Barrows said she agreed that the penalty should be increased. "There are a lot of choices people make in life _ drinking and driving should not be one of them," she said.
The decision is made worse when there is an "innocent victim" and the driver should be punished accordingly, she said.
"A vehicle is a ... killing machine in the wrong hands," she said.
Seward said, "Leandra's Law sends a clear message to anyone who even thinks of getting behind the wheel after drinking, especially if a child is in the car."
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