House stops speeding drunk driver

River Falls police dragged a bleeding 58-year-old local man away from a house he crashed into at 701 S. Main St. shortly after dark Friday. The collision caused the house’s water pipes to leak into the basement. There was also concern a gas line had ruptured that could trigger an explosion. The man, eastbound on Park Street in a 2004 Mazda Tribute before making his errant turn, was taken to the hospital. He was later cited for drunk driving.

Officers diverted traffic around the crash site at Main and Park streets. Firefighters were called in to make sure the gas lines were secured.

The driver had apparently turned at full speed into the driveway of the house before hitting it. He was found outside his SUV, leaning against a tree with a bloody gash across his forehead.

Occupants in homes on either side of the house that was hit were evacuated.

The driver allegedly admitted right away he had been drinking. An empty whiskey bottle was found on the floor of his SUV.

River Falls police also:

--Chased an 18-year-old UW-RF freshman student in a stolen car who was allegedly speeding and had already hit a parked car. The pursuit began last Thursday after 3 a.m. The 18-year-old man was first seen speeding west on Cascade Avenue in a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am.

The unlocked car with keys inside was allegedly stolen near Junior’s Bar downtown. The owner was a female college student who works at Junior’s.

Because of the high speeds on Spring, Sixth, Hazel and other residential streets, police couldn’t safely catch their suspect driver. In the area of Eighth and Hazel streets he did finally lose control, go over a curb and stop.

He then tried crawling out of the driver’s side window and fell to the pavement. Ordered to stop, he ran instead.

An officer gave chase on foot and brought the suspect down. The officer was hurt in the spill and hit in the face by the suspect who got up and got away.

Campus police and sheriff’s deputies responded to help with the search. A police dog from St. Croix County finally sniffed out the suspect who was hiding behind a large tree in someone’s back yard.

The suspect was handcuffed face down and brought to the police station.

There, it was learned he was a college student. He told police that he had come from an off-campus house party, was abducted at gunpoint near North Hall and forced by a mysterious gunman to drive around town.

Fearing for his life, the student said he did as he was told. At some point the gunman, who was the front-seat passenger, slipped out of the car and fled.

Police say they found no evidence for the existence of such a gunman.

The UW-RF student was eventually cited for drunk driving and faces criminal charges for fleeing, battery to an officer, obstruction and driving without an owner’s consent. He was taken to county jail in Ellsworth.

The injured River Falls police officer will miss work until at least Nov. 22.

--Arrested an 18-year-old student from St. Cloud State University for drunk driving at West Cascade Avenue and Falls Street by the bridge at 4:15 a.m. Sunday. The man apparently lost control while rounding the curve near the bridge, crossed the road, slammed over a curb and ended up in a front yard at 233 W. Cascade Ave.

Police found the man and his 1997 Ford Mustang, hood up, horn blaring, in the parking lot of the city power plant.

The man was described as stumbling around but he denied drinking. After being given field sobriety tests, the man was arrested and given an $812.50 fine.

Unable to find a sober adult to pick him up, the man was taken to county jail in Ellsworth.

For more, please read Police Beat in the Nov. 16 print edition of the River Falls Journal.

SOURCE

----

Business owners and entrepreneurs who own any social venue and who are looking to start a cash business can now do there part in the prevention of Drunk Driving. Please visit alcobuddy.com. World's premiere Breathalyzer Vending Machine for more information.

Woman arrested for drunk driving, child endangerment

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: Battle Creek police have reported the following cases:

• A warrant is being sought for a man, 54, after his girlfriend, 42, said she was assaulted in the first block of Harris Avenue about 1:25 a.m. Thursday.

• A man, 28, and his roommate, a woman, 31, were arrested after they fought in the 300 block of Webber Street about 1:50 a.m. Thursday.

• A warrant is being sought for a man, 27, after his former girlfriend, 21, said she was assaulted in the first block of Laura Lane about 2:52 a.m. Thursday.

• A woman, 28, was arrested after her boyfriend, 26, said he was assaulted in the 200 block of Summer Street about 7:35 a.m. Thursday.

ASSAULT: Battle Creek police are investigating a report that a man touched the buttocks of a girl, 13, near Mason Avenue and Kellogg Street about 6:39 a.m. Thursday. The girl said she was walking to meet a bus when the man walked past her, then began to follow her and then suddenly ran past her touching her. The girl wasn't sure if the man was trying to touch her or just trying to reach for a cell phone or some other valuable.

WOMAN ARRESTED: A Battle Creek woman, 28, was arrested on charges of drunk driving and child endangerment after Battle Creek police said she had a minor accident near Columbia Avenue and Main Street about 4:22 p.m. Thursday. Officers said her blood alcohol level was 0.17 percent and she was driving with her son, 3, in the car.

BREAK-INS: (Values in parentheses) • All You Need Rental, 951 Surby Ave.: attempted. • Wentworth Avenue, 300 block: generator, tool box, tools ($1,370).

THEFTS: • Marie Avenue, 400 block: cash ($300). • Fremont Street, first block: television satellite box ($200). • Capital Avenue Southwest, 400 block: checkbook (undetermined). • Clark Road, first block: money, medication ($500). • Dahlia Drive, 5600 block: scooter ($500).

VANDALISM: • South Burdge Street, first block: window (undetermined). • Burr Street, 200 block: window (undetermined). • Allison Drive, first block: tires ($400). • Laura Lane, first block: grill (undetermined).

Call Silent Observer at 964-3888 or text CRIMES (274-637) Tip 685 with information about crimes.

SOURCE

----

Business owners and entrepreneurs who own any social venue and who are looking to start a cash business can now do there part in the prevention of Drunk Driving. Please visit alcobuddy.com. World's premiere Breathalyzer Vending Machine for more information.

Repeat drunk drivers, a growing menace?

On a recent Friday night in Palm Beach County, the Contact 5 Investigators found a driver confused, his Lexus bruised after deputies say alcohol led him to cross over the median and take down a street pole.

It's a scene that has become all too normal in Florida, because DUI crashes have become all too common.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, last year drunk drivers caused upwards of 50 crashes per day in the Sunshine State and killed nearly one thousand people.

It's a problem that is dangerous, deadly, and all too often, repeated.

"It's not fair and it shouldn't be," said Duane Jacobetti. He and his wife, Tina, know what repeat drunk drivers are capable of.

But, they could never imagine their only child would fall victim to one.

"I miss her so much. I never would have thought she'd be one of those statistics," said Tina.

16-year-old Jessica Smith was a popular cheerleader at South Fork High in Martin County when she crossed paths, this summer, with a repeat drunk driver. The driver, 58 year old David Whelan, was driving the wrong way on US-1 In Hobe Sound.

Tina had gone out looking for her daughter, when she found her.

"I see this accident scene with this truck but I really didn't think it was her truck so I pulled over. I talked to the officer and he's like 'what's your daughters name?' Then he said 'come here.' That's when I knew it was her. I thought maybe she was just hurt. He showed me her picture and then I see this purse her boyfriend got her for her birthday in April and I knew it was her," explained Tina.

Jessica died upon impact that June 23rd. So did her killer, 58-year-old Whelan. According to the Florida Highway Patrol crash report, Whelan's blood alcohol level that night measured nearly four times the legal limit.

But as more details about Whelan's past started to surface after the crash, the Jacobetti's grief turned to rage.

"This guy should never have been on the road that night," said Duane.

David Whelan had a history of alcohol problems. He had been arrested more than 40 times on various charges, most alcohol related.

The night he crashed head on into Jessica, Whelan had been convicted of three DUIs and his license had been suspended for the fifth time.

"Other than, literally, putting someone in jail, there's very little we can do to prevent them from getting back in the car. We can't, literally, hold everyone's keys," explains Nelson Baez, an Assistant State Attorney in Palm Beach County, where Whelan lived.

The State Attorney's office failed to prosecute Whelan three times last year when he was arrested, again, for driving under the influence and, once again, for driving with a suspended license.

The Contact 5 Investigators asked Baez why the state never pursued charges against Whelan for those arrests.

"I have nothing to say, specifically, about David Whelan's situation," Baez said, further explaining his office doesn't comment on individual cases.

But while the State Attorney's office isn't talking about the Whelan case, Palm Beach County Judge Barry Cohen, is.

"No one likes to say this, but no system is perfect. The criminal justice system cannot provide 100% public safety," Judge Cohen said.

Cohen signed a warrant for Whelan's arrest, issued just two weeks before the deadly crash. The warrant was issued after Whelan consistently violated the terms of his release from a 2009 DUI conviction.

But even though a warrant had been issued for Whelan's arrest on June 9th, warrant cops couldn't catch up with him before the crash on June 23rd.

"An attempt was made at his home address, but he wasn't there. Whelan was one of those offenders who had had multiple addresses, he had 8 different addresses on file from various encounters with law enforcement, " explained Lt. Chris Keane of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office warrant division.

But Judge Cohen explains Whelan's case is an unfortunate reality of a criminal justice system overloaded by cases, grossly underfunded and understaffed.

"When you look at volume, it's a miracle people get out of the courtroom at all and anything gets done," he said.

"Was this a system failure?" asked the Contact 5 Investigators.

"Well, obviously an innocent young woman is dead. She was killed by a guy who's got a record and she was killed by a guy driving under suspension, who was on probation for DUI. Um, I'm not prepared to say the system failed this victim," he said.

"Are you prepared to say the system worked," asked Contact 5 Investigator, Katie LaGrone.

Judge Cohen replied, "No, not at all."

Nearly 4 months after the crash, Jessica's memory remains where she died. A roadside memorial on US-1 in Hobe Sound is covered with messages from friends and family.

But her parents continue to ask questions, knowing the man who killed their only child, should never have been driving behind the wheel to begin with.

"How could this guy have gotten away with so much?

READ MORE HERE

----

Business owners and entrepreneurs who own any social venue and who are looking to start a cash business can now do there part in the prevention of Drunk Driving. Please visit alcobuddy.com. World's premiere Breathalyzer Vending Machine for more information.

Drunken driving madness in the courts

It’s so hard to decide which is the craziest part of today’s eye-popping Globe Spotlight story on judicial leniency in drunken driving cases.

Is it the episode where the judge believed a defendant who said, yes, he was driving while hammered, but also believed his lawyer, who claimed his client hadn’t driven on a public road before ramming into a house three times?

Or maybe it’s the one where the judge took the word of a teenager who blew 0.11 in a breath test, failed field sobriety tests, and then changed his story in court, claiming a friend had actually been driving.

Not guilty, despite the fact that he had admitted to lying under oath just minutes before.

So many barmy choices! We’ve got judges all over the state who are abandoning common sense, and in some cases, it appears, sanity, to free drivers who slide behind the wheel while wasted.

And we’ve got a savvy club of defense attorneys shamelessly working the system to make sure the jurists most hell-bent on acquitting drunken driving defendants are the ones who hear their cases.

Yet District Court Chief Justice Lynda M. Connolly told the Globe, “I’m not sure that there’s something wrong there.’’

There’s something wrong there.

And it’s all happening out of view, in near-empty courtrooms, beyond the reach of even the court’s spanking-new, $75 million computer-tracking system.

Judges would never get away with so little scrutiny for so long if they were taking this lax an approach to, say, weapons charges.

To illustrate, I offer a reimagining of the loopiest anecdote from today’s Spotlight story - you’ll recognize it as the one where Taunton District Court Judge James McGovern encountered Jorge Pinto, who had showed up apparently inebriated for a hearing on his second OUI offense. The judge let Pinto leave the courthouse - behind the wheel of his car.

That made the judge annoyed - not at Pinto, but at those who had dragged him back to court.

Imagine, if you will, the same scenario with loaded guns substituted for loaded drivers: Police see a man brandishing a gun on a public street, and arrest him. Then when he arrives for a pretrial hearing, prosecutors suspect he’s been waving a weapon around again, and tell the judge.

“You waving a loaded gun around?’’ the judge asks the defendant.

“I waved a loaded gun around this morning, yes,’’ the man replies.

Then the judge does nothing. Free to go, the defendant heads right back out to the street, where he proceeds to pull out his piece again. And instead of throwing the book at him, the judge threatens to dismiss the whole case.

Gun charge or OUI, this is absolute madness. Driving a car drunk is just as dangerous as running around with a loaded weapon.

An astonishing 108 people died in drunken driving crashes in Massachusetts in 2009, the latest year for which figures are available. And this staggering figure was one of the lowest in the country. Nationally, 34,000 people died in crashes caused by impaired drivers.

But the fatalities tell only a tiny part of the story. There are a whopping 17,000 OUI arrests in Massachusetts each year. And those are just the ones overstretched police manage to stop.

Imagine how many others are out there, in the bag, racing around in tons of metal, sure they won’t get caught, or worse.

“People just look at it and think . . . this is not going to happen to me,’’ says David DeIuliis, a spokesman for Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Massachusetts.

What is it about the mortal danger of drunken driving that is so hard for so many motorists - and judges - to take seriously?

In courtrooms, and on the roads, it has to end.

SOURCE

----

Business owners and entrepreneurs who own any social venue and who are looking to start a cash business can now do there part in the prevention of Drunk Driving. Please visit alcobuddy.com. World's premiere Breathalyzer Vending Machine for more information.

Public Meeting About Dangers of Drinking and Driving

A public awareness event about the dangers of drugged, drunk and impaired driving will be held Monday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. at St. Francis Borgia Regional High School in Washington.

Father Finbarr Dowling, St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish, is helping to organize the event with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

Father Dowling described the meeting, which will be open to the public, as an exchange of information among concerned parents.

“We hope to encourage parents who are trying hard to keep kids safe,” Father Dowling said. “We want to keep the emphasis on how parents are discouraging their kids from drinking and driving.”

Meghan Carter, executive director of the gateway affiliate of MADD, will speak at the event. The St. Louis chapter covers nine counties in the region, including Franklin County.

“My presentation will give people an overview of what we (MADD) do in the St. Louis area, how to get involved and to reach out to victims,” Carter said.

Carter will invite those who have been affected by drunk driving to share their personal stories about the “victimization that they’ve experienced and what MADD has done for them.”

Washington police and Franklin County Sheriff’s Department deputies also have been invited to speak.

Accident Statistics

According to the Statistical Analysis Center of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, in 14.8 percent of fatal crashes involving drivers under the age of 21, the driver’s drinking condition contributed to the cause of the crash.

In 2010, there were 18 drivers between the ages of 15-20 who were killed in accidents involving alcohol statewide.

There were 319 personal injuries reported from accidents involving alcohol in that same age group in Missouri last year.

According to the patrol, there were 138 crashes involving drinking, in Franklin County last year. Of those 15 involved drivers under the age of 21.

Franklin County ranked eighth among all of the counties for the highest number of crashes involving drinking and drivers under 21.

In Warren County, the patrol reported 33 crashes involving drinking and two of those involved drivers under the age of 21.

In Washington, Lt. Mike Stapp said there have been no alcohol- or drug-related-accidents involving drivers under 21 and alcohol so far this year.

In 2010, there were three alcohol- or drug-related crashes where the drivers were under the age 21 and in 2009, there were four.

SOURCE

----

Business owners and entrepreneurs who own any social venue and who are looking to start a cash business can now do there part in the prevention of Drunk Driving. Please visit alcobuddy.com. World's premiere Breathalyzer Vending Machine for more information.

Lawmakers tackle drunk drivers, tele-abortions

Lincoln, NE – Changing the way drunk drivers are handled, and prohibiting telemedicine or webcam abortions, were among proposals advanced in the Nebraska Legislature Tuesday.

Under current law, someone stopped for first-offense drunk driving can have his or her license revoked for 90 days under the administrative license revocation process. But Sen. Mike Flood of Norfolk says it would be more effective to encourage people to use ignition interlock devices. Those are devices that require people to blow into a machine that won’t allow a car to start if it detects alcohol on their breath.

“What happens now is you get your license suspended, and if you’re a drunk, you still have a car, you still have a set of keys, it’s got a license on it, you’re not making good decisions, you’re driving on a suspended license and our courts are littered with DUI violations,” Flood said. “So what I like about the ignition interlock is at least if you are driving, you’re blowing into a device that says you’re not drinking, and the rest of us are safer.”

Under Flood’s legislation, a first-offense drunk driver could choose between a 180-day administrative license revocation or using an ignition interlock device for 180 days. And time spent using the ignition interlock would also count against any subsequent time using the device that a court would order.

Flood said the new approach would let people who made a mistake still drive to work, or alcohol education classes, while still protecting the public. The bill, which also toughens penalties for boating while drunk and for procuring alcohol for minors, got first-round approval on a vote of 41-0.

On abortion, lawmakers took up a proposal by Lincoln Senator Tony Fulton to require a doctor be physically present when an abortion-inducing drug is dispensed. In Iowa, a woman up to seven weeks pregnant can go to a clinic where she’s examined by a nurse practitioner, then consults via teleconferencing with a doctor via who can by remote control open a drawer containing the drugs.

At a March 9 public hearing, Fulton said his bill is, “intended to prevent the proliferation of these webcam abortions into our state.” The Supreme Court has ruled state regulations are unconstitutional if they’re intended to place a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion. But states can enact regulations to ensure women’s safety. That’s what Fulton emphasized in floor debate.

“Requiring the physical presence of the physician is motivated by, and is important for, the safety of the mother who undergoes a chemical abortion,” Fulton said.

Critics of the proposal said the bill is unconstitutional. Lincoln Sen. Danielle Conrad questioned Sen. Dave Bloomfield of Hoskins, a supporter of the bill who made it his priority this session.

“Is your intent to reduce the number of abortions in Nebraska?” Conrad asked. “That would be part of the hope,” Bloomfield responded. “There is also a big part that deals with the safety of the patient.”

Lincoln Senator Amanda McGill, an opponent, predicted the bill would have little effect.

“If a woman really wants an abortion, she’s going to drive to get it,” she said. “It’s such a life-impacting decision that if a woman really wants it, she’s going to drive and find that opportunity.”

After several hours of debate, senators voted 34-9 first round approval for the bill.

SOURCE

----

Business owners and entrepreneurs who own any social venue and who are looking to start a cash business can now do there part in the prevention of Drunk Driving. Please visit alcobuddy.com. World's premiere Breathalyzer Vending Machine for more information.

Thursday's DUI Checkpoint Nabs One Drunk Driver

One driver was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol during the Martinez Police Department's DUI Checkpoint Thursday night on Alhambra Avenue.

According to a release from the department, another was arrested for driving a stolen car.

The screening, which took place between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., also resulted in two citations for driving on a suspended license, one for being an unlicensed driver, and five towed cars.

In total, 503 drivers were contacted by officers as they drove through the checkpoint.

The checkpoint was funded by a grant from the California Safe Transportation Research & Education Center.

SOURCE

----

Business owners and entrepreneurs who own any social venue and who are looking to start a cash business can now do there part in the prevention of Drunk Driving. Please visit alcobuddy.com. World's premiere Breathalyzer Vending Machine for more information.

Drunk Driver Sentenced After Hitting Duluth Investigator

A drunk driver has now been sentenced for a car crash in which he struck a Duluth police investigator sitting in his squad.

Duluth investigator Don Boso's car looked more like a pile of scrap metal after being hit by 25-year-old Duane Porter's car in mid-March.

On Friday, a judge convicted Porter of causing Boso great bodily harm and driving while impaired. Porter will spend a year in jail or at the Northeast Regional Corrections Center for chemical dependency treatment. He'll also serve 100 hours of community service and be on probation for five years.

The complaint states the accident happened at the intersection of Central Entrance and Mesaba Ave. It said Porter drove his car up the hill around 6 a.m., drove through a red light and crashed into the side of Investigator Boso's unmarked squad car.

Both cars were in bad shape after the accident, but so was Boso. The accident sent him to the hospital with, what doctors called, life threatening injuries. They said his brain and liver were bleeding and his face was cut.

During Friday's hearing, Porter apologized to Boso and his family. Porter said he was sorry that it took an accident like this to realize he needs help with an alcohol problem.

Boso, however, said the ruling wasn't fair. He said he wanted Porter to get a stiffer sentence.

Boso said he's still trying to recover, but feels extremely lucky to be alive.

According to the complaint, Porter has a history of drinking and driving. His probation will require him to stay sober.

SOURCE

----

Business owners and entrepreneurs who own any social venue and who are looking to start a cash business can now do there part in the prevention of Drunk Driving. Please visit alcobuddy.com. World's premiere Breathalyzer Vending Machine for more information.

Trial of man convicted of drunk driving 8 times begins

The trial of a Salina man who has been convicted of driving drunk eight times since 1986 will begin on Tuesday morning with opening statements.

In September, 51-year-old Dean Tuszynski was arrested in Liverpool after a hit-and-run accident in the Town of Van Buren in which a car he was driving was allegedly involved.

The incident occurred just a few months after he was released from prison on his eighth drunk driving conviction. In that case, the judge rejected “persistent felony classification.” But after his most recent arrest, Judge Anthony Aloi indicated he may consider that status, which could mean 15 years in prison for Tuszynski.

Aloi has, in fact, used the Tuszynski case to appeal to state lawmakers to increase the penalties for repeat drunk-driving offenders in New York State.

Jury selection was completed Monday afternoon.

After the September incident, Tuszyinski refused to take a breath test and authorities do not have a blood-alcohol content indicator upon which to base the charge. In February, however, he gave a saliva sample, which prosecutors could use to compare his DNA to DNA found on beer cans in his vehicle.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York struck down the persistent felony law, saying it was unconstitutional. But the state’s highest court – the Court of Appeals in Albany – ruled that it is valid.

SOURCE

----

Business owners and entrepreneurs who own any social venue and who are looking to start a cash business can now do there part in the prevention of Drunk Driving. Please visit alcobuddy.com. World's premiere Breathalyzer Vending Machine for more information.

MADD Honors Women Who Tried to Stop a Drunk Driver

MADD awarded “Difference Awards” to two Northeast Ohio women who tried to stop an alleged drunk driver from getting into his car with his two children.

According to the Ohio News Network, Gwen Hungerford and Jennifer Tarson noticed a man outside a Burger King in Lorain walking in the parking lot with his two small children. They reported smelling alcohol on him and said that he appeared to be drunk.

The two women called 911 and tried to stop him from driving off. Unfortunately, the man was successful in leaving with his two children and hit Hungerford's car in the process.

The man has not been identified or arrested, but he could face charges for hitting the car.

Both women say that the encounter has changed their lives and that they plan on volunteering for MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). They say they will participate in the “Every Child Deserves a Designated Driver” program, which sends volunteers to schools to advise children on what to do if they are forced to get into a car with someone who has been drinking.

"People have that 'I can't help' attitude,” said Tarson. “And it just goes back to well, if you think you can, you can and if you think you can't, you can't.”
Julie Leggett of MADD thinks that the women's watchfulness has already sent a message. "It did put that gentleman on notice that people are watching,” she said.

SOURCE

----

Business owners and entrepreneurs who own any social venue and who are looking to start a cash business can now do there part in the prevention of Drunk Driving. Please visit alcobuddy.com. World's premiere Breathalyzer Vending Machine for more information.

Drunk driver collides with police car

A 20-year-old man was arrested for impaired driving after crashing his vehicle into a police cruiser in Winnipeg on Thursday morning.

The marked police cruiser was at the intersection of Bison Drive and Markham Road in the Waverley Heights neighbourhood just after 3 a.m.

A speeding car ran a red light and struck the cruiser.

The two officers inside were transported to hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

The 20-year-old man is facing charges of impaired driving causing bodily harm (two counts) and driving with a blood-alcohol level over .08.

He was released from custody on a promise to appear in court.

SOURCE

----

Business owners and entrepreneurs who own any social venue and who are looking to start a cash business can now do there part in the prevention of Drunk Driving. Please visit alcobuddy.com. World's premiere Breathalyzer Vending Machine for more information.

'Drunk driver' slams into fence

A DRUNK driver hit a parked car, mounted a kerb and then slammed into a fence in North Bondi, police allege.
The five-year-old daughter of the driver was in the back seat at the time.
The incident happened at the junction of Clyde and Justus streets about 11.40am yesterday.
Police arrested the driver, a 47-year-old woman, who allegedly recorded a breath test reading of 0.197. The legal limit is 0.5.
She was charged with high-range drink driving, had her licence suspended and is due to front Waverley Local Court on May 24.

SOURCE

----

Business owners and entrepreneurs who own any social venue and who are looking to start a cash business can now do there part in the prevention of Drunk Driving. Please visit alcobuddy.com. World's premiere Breathalyzer Vending Machine for more information.

Man taken to hospital after deputies say he crashed while drunk driving

EAU CLAIRE (WEAU) - Trempealeau County deputies say a drunk driver had to be taken to the hospital after crashing.

It happened Monday afternoon in Trempealeau. Deputies say Steven Wroblewski, 55, went into the ditch, hit a post and kept on driving. That's when officers say he missed a stop sign, went into another ditch and got stuck in a field. Deputies say he was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and arrested for 4th offense OWI.

SOURCE

----

Business owners and entrepreneurs who own any social venue and who are looking to start a cash business can now do there part in the prevention of Drunk Driving. Please visit alcobuddy.com. World's premiere Breathalyzer Vending Machine for more information.

James Kittle reaches plea deal in drunk driving case

The former head of Indiana¿s Republican Party reached a plea deal in a drunk driving case Tuesday. James Kittle pleaded guilty to a class C misdemeanor.

The former head of Indiana’s Republican Party reached a plea deal in a drunk driving case Tuesday. James Kittle pleaded guilty to a class C misdemeanor.

He was arrested in December after being caught driving across the center line in Carmel. Police say his blood alcohol level was .10.

He received one year probation and a 60-day suspended jail sentence. Kittle, whose family runs the Kittle's chain of furniture stores apologized in court, saying there was no excuse for his actions.

SOURCE

----

Business owners and entrepreneurs who own any social venue and who are looking to start a cash business can now do there part in the prevention of Drunk Driving. Please visit alcobuddy.com. World's premiere Breathalyzer Vending Machine for more information.

Know your units of booze

Knowing how many units of alcohol are in each drink that you consume at a dinner party or on a big night out is vital, says local organisation South Africans Against Drunk Driving (Sadd).

The organisation’s Caro Smit said that while it supported initiatives such as the Cape Argus and Department of Transport’s Name and Shame campaign - in which the names of people convicted of drinking and driving-related offences are published in the newspaper - it was vital that people learn more about alcohol.

For instance, Smit said, people needed to be informed about how to measure a unit of alcohol.

“Apart from putting people’s names in (the newspaper), you need to tell them what a unit is… so they can moderate their drinking,” said Smit. “They don’t know, for example, that if you’ve got a big party one evening and the next day you have a hangover, you’ve still got alcohol in your system.”

The legal limit for drinking and driving is 0.05g blood alcohol and 0.24mg breath alcohol content. One unit of alcohol, equivalent to a 25ml shot of tequila or vodka, will measure 0.02g in blood and 0.10mg in breath.

The organisation has put together a list of commonly consumed alcoholic drinks and explained how many units of alcohol are contained in each. For instance, a cider contains two units; 75ml of red wine contains one unit; 90ml of white wine contains one unit and a quart of beer contains 3.5 units.

Smit said the Name and Shame campaign would be made even more effective if it contained an educational element. More education and tougher laws, she said, were crucial for dealing with the problem of drunk driving.

Regular law enforcement operations at which drivers were breathalysed and tested for alcohol were also important, she said.

“I have driven all over South Africa since 1969 and I have never been tested for alcohol. We have to be tested over and over again so people know they can’t take a chance.”

Today, the Cape Argus names and shames 56 people who have been convicted in court for driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or over the limit.

The names are the latest to be sent by the courts to the provincial transport department for capture on the eNatis computer system.

They are being named as part of the newspaper’s ongoing Name and Shame initiative in co-operation with the provincial transport department’s Safely Home campaign. - Cape Argus

SOURCE

----

Business owners and entrepreneurs who own any social venue and who are looking to start a cash business can now do there part in the prevention of Drunk Driving. Please visit alcobuddy.com. World's premiere Breathalyzer Vending Machine for more information.

Elderly drunk driver who killed two passengers jailed 4 years

Eric Kannstadter has led a long, decent life, except for one problem — his drinking.

“A functioning alcoholic,” he doesn’t drink constantly but finds it hard to stop at one glass.

He’s often the last to leave the bar or a party. He’s tried and failed at treatment programs.

So it was with three times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood that the then 70-year-old retiree set out in his Hyundai Elantra on a Friday morning 3 ½ years ago to drive two elderly ladies, fellow residents in an Etobicoke seniors’ home, for their customary shopping trip.

They were almost safely home when he misjudged a curve on Bergamot Ave., near Islington Ave. and Rexdale Blvd., and slammed head-on into an oncoming TTC bus, killing the two women.

Laura Dupuis, 82, and her friend Eileen Broadhurst, 81, were rushed to hospital, where they died within days.

On Thursday, the frail 73-year-old man stood unsteadily as Ontario Superior Court Justice David Aston sentenced him to four years in prison.

The judge also banned him from driving for life, a penalty he didn’t oppose.

The judge, who received victim impact statements from Dupuis’s family, said he was struck by the magnitude of their loss.

“Laura Dupuis was a huge and important part of many lives,” he said.

In a trial earlier this year, Aston found Kannstadter guilty of impaired driving and two counts of impaired driving causing death.

A woman testified that Kannstadter drank a scotch at about 11 p.m. the night before the Oct. 19, 2007 accident. “I have a strong suspicion that Mr. Kannstadter did not leave it at one drink that night,” Aston said.

However, the judge in his ruling also said that: “He was a good provider for his family and maintained gainful employment before his retirement.

“Mr. Kannstadter was a productive member of society for many years and supported his family before retirement. His son says, ‘Alcoholism never made him a bad father,’” the judge noted in his ruling.

Crown prosecutor Patrick Travers sought a seven-year penitentiary sentence, noting Kannstadter’s previous convictions.

One is for driving over the legal alcohol limit and another is for careless driving in which alcohol may have played a role.

Defence lawyer David North asked for two or three years in jail, noting that his client, who uses a walker and has suffered a stroke, is approaching the end of his life.

The judge noted that Kannstadter has expressed remorse, apologizing to the families.

But Aston observed that “there is a world of difference between regret over the outcome of what happened that day and regret that he did not act differently at the time.”

Perhaps Kannstadter has difficulty accepting responsibility because he has no memory of the collision, owing to the head injury he sustained, the judge said.

Outside court, Dupuis’s family recalled an energetic, thoughtful mother of six, who had worked for many years for the Scott Mission and was still a volunteer with a food bank.

“I’m content with the sentence,” said one of her daughters, Linda Cowles, adding that the family was concerned that Kannstadter should never again get behind the wheel.

“Hopefully this sends the message to people that drink and drive,” said another daughter, Melanie Cole.

SOURCE

----

Business owners and entrepreneurs who own any social venue and who are looking to start a cash business can now do there part in the prevention of Drunk Driving. Please visit alcobuddy.com. World's premiere Breathalyzer Vending Machine for more information.

Driver gets 5 years in death of Ellicott City woman, 68

A 23-year-old woman was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday for killing an Ellicott City woman while driving home drunk from a July 2010 pool party.

It was Alison Lesley Walsh’s second drunken driving offense.

“She’s young, however, she comes to you as a subsequent offender, we cannot lose sight of that,” Howard County Assistant State’s Attorney Claude de Vastey Jones told Circuit Court Judge Diane O. Leasure.

According to prosecutors, Walsh, of Owings Mills, had a blood alcohol level of .17 — more than twice the legal limit — when her 2005 Honda Civic rear-ended a 2005 Honda Gold Wing motorcycle as Walsh approached a red light on Route 40 at Marriottsville Road in Ellicott City at 8:10 p.m. last July 11.

The collision sent the bike across the roadway and into the median, killing Cecilia Ann Amato, 68, and injuring her husband Antonio Joseph Amato, then 74.

Walsh pled guilty to negligent vehicular manslaughter on Feb. 11.

According to Jones, Walsh completed probation for an unrelated 2008 drunk driving offense in Carroll County just six months before the July collision.

Cecilia Amato’s children, Tina and Joe Amato, said that the events of July 11 haunt them daily.

“We relive the alarming phone call. ... We relive the growing concern as we imagine our mother confused, injured,” said Tina Amato, 42, at the sentencing hearing Thursday. “Our loss is part of our family history and we carry it with us as we search for normalcy.”

Walsh said her life, too, had radically changed.

“For the past nine months my reality has been a nightmare,” Walsh said. “Mrs. Amato will forever be a part of me and I hope to make her proud through my sobriety.”

According to her defense attorney, Paul Mark Sandler, Walsh has struggled with alcohol abuse and clinical depression since she was 15. Her problems began, Sandler said, as a method of coping with her father’s unexpected death.

Sandler argued that the state’s recommended sentence, five years at a state prison, was too lengthy. He also questioned the wisdom of sending Walsh to the Department of Corrections as opposed to the Howard County Detention Center.

“Were she sentenced to life imprisonment, it could not undo the tragedy. Nothing could,” he told Leasure. “Look at this young lady and think about (her) problems, ... what happens to her when she goes to the Department of Corrections?”

He suggested that Walsh serve an 18-month prison term at the county jail, followed by a period of house arrest.

Jones, however, said that an 18-month term would not be appropriate, given Walsh’s 2008 drunk driving offense, and Leasure agreed.

“This is a second offense, and I can’t overlook that,” the judge said.

During the fall of 2010, two individuals who killed someone while driving drunk were sentenced to 18 months at the county jail, but neither had previous DUIs.

Jones also said that while Walsh may suffer from depression, that “should not overshadow” the pain of the Amato family.

Both children said their mother’s death was an unending loss.

Joe Amato, 45, told Leasure that his mother’s absence was also a blow to his 3-year-old son, Anthony, who spent countless hours with his grandmother.

“All of her focus and energy went into him,” he said. “Yet we have to worry he will have no memory of who she was.”

After the hearing, Amato said that sentencing guidelines for drunk driving deaths are not adequate.

“The bigger picture, for me, is that it just seems like people, particularly someone who has a previous offense, should probably get a stiffer sentence,” he said.

Walsh probably will serve only about one-third of her sentence and be released on parole, according to both attorneys in the case.

SOURCE

----

Business owners and entrepreneurs who own any social venue and who are looking to start a cash business can now do there part in the prevention of Drunk Driving. Please visit alcobuddy.com. World's premiere Breathalyzer Vending Machine for more information.

'Glee's' Lea Michele's car accident: Hit by drunk drivers?

This is so not something to sing about.

"Glee" star Lea Michele was on her way home from work at 2 a.m. on Friday morning -- Rachel Berry puts in some seriously late nights -- when her vehicle was hit by another car, her rep confirms to Us. She was driving on Melrose Ave in Hollywood.

Michele pulled over and got out of the car. "Lea was hit and notified the police," says the rep. "She was not injured and is fine."

According to a source, several girls got out of the other car. "A couple of drunk girls hit her, got out of the car, giggled that she was famous, said something like 'are you drunk, too?' Then they drove off." Not cool. Michele jotted down their license plate number and told the authorities.

We're just glad no one was hurt! Also, car accidents have a tendency to be good luck for the "Glee" leading lady - she was in a particularly nasty one right before she auditioned for the role that's made her a household name.

SOURCE

As dangerous as drunk driving

WHITEMARSH — With the simulation of real obstacles and distractions testing student response time, about 60 youth from Plymouth Whitemarsh High School (PWHS) recently participated in a teen driver safety simulation.

Project Ignition, sponsored by State Farm Insurance and birthed from the S.A.F.E. coalition, is a student-led campaign that teaches the importance of not texting while driving, a subject rampant in the media lately, as studies reveal the startling numbers of teenagers who have died from fatal crashes involving cell phones.

For about an hour, teenagers from PWHS were provided the opportunity to see, firsthand, the dangers of texting while driving with the use of a vehicle simulator. For students and adults present, the lesson was quickly learned that it only takes a few seconds for a motorist to lose control of his or her vehicle and suffer the consequences.

“This is a great way for teens to learn without putting them in real danger,” said Meg Kramer, founder of StreetSafe Driving Academy, the school that provided the simulator.

“It’s active learning that is so much more fun and effective. They otherwise are going to learn this when they are on the road.”

Kramer told The Times Herald the StreetSafe Driving Academy, based out of Bryn Mawr, is the only one of its kind in the country to have such a type of driving simulator.

“You want to be able to train them to anticipate the unexpected. This is a great way to do that. All kinds of things can happen on the simulator. Things will fall out of trucks or the car in front of you slams on its breaks. Our whole approach to driver training is very unique and different. If you think about it, it’s a skill they will rely on everyday of their lives.”

PWHS was among 26 other high schools from the U.S. and Canada selected to receive a $2,000 grant to implement Project Ignition this school year, as part of the existing S.A.F.E. Coalition between PWHS and Germantown Academy. But it was the police department that submitted the application on behalf of the school district.

According to a study conducted by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), only 28 percent of teenagers believe talking on a cell phone while driving makes a major difference in driving safety, while an overwhelming majority — 79 percent — recognize texting while driving is a dangerous proclivity.

“When that phone vibrates, we all, instinctively, have to get to it right away,” said Whitemarsh Police Department Sgt. Fran Wheatley, who helped organize the event. “The mission of this whole concept is to make the students, faculty and community understand we are all creatures of habit and we are trying to change some of our bad habits.”

SOURCE

Charge: Driver caught drunk two weeks after DUI sentencing

A Kent man previously convicted of drunkenly running into a pedestrian has again been charged with drunk driving.

Seventeen days after he was sentenced in another drunk driving incident, Patrick Rigg, 45, was arrested leaving a Kent bar and found to be again drunk behind the wheel, King County prosecutors claimed in charging documents.

Writing the court, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Amy Freedheim noted that Rigg was convicted of vehicular assault in 2002 after crashing into a pedestrian. He had also twice been convicted of drunk driving, including a July 2010 incident for which he was sentenced March 2.

"Given his unwillingness or inability to not become intoxicated and drive, he is a very grave danger to this community and given his history, he knows the dangers that he places on innocent citizens and yet still he continues to drive impaired," Freedheim told the court.

According to charging documents, a state trooper spotted Rigg leaving the Central Pub shortly after midnight on March 19. Believing Rigg to be impaired by alcohol, the trooper pulled him over and administered several field sobriety tests.

Prosecutors contend Rigg failed the tests, and a blood draw that showed his blood alcohol level to be .14, nearly double the legal limit.

"When asked if he believed his driving was affected by alcohol, the defendant answered by saying, 'I don't think I was that bad,'" Freedheim told the court.

Rigg has been charged with felony DUI. He remains jailed on $150,000 bail.

SOURCE