Blog entries

Iowa State Patrol Announces Labor Day Crackdown on Impaired Driving

Colin C. Murphy — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:07:55 +0100

The Iowa State Patrol announced intensified enforcement efforts this Labor Day weekend, especially during nighttime hours, to target drinking drivers. Nearly 10,000 other law enforcement agencies will also participate in this year's nationwide campaign: Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.

Iowa reported 372 traffic fatalities in 2009. This number has been trending downward each year from 450 in 2005. To date, there have been 241 reported traffic deaths this year through August Read More...

University of Iowa Enforces New Tailgating Rules

Colin C. Murphy — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:36:36 +0100

The University of Iowa's "Think Before You Drink" initiative complete with new tailgating rules begins with the September 4 football home opener at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. The new rules limit alcohol consumption in UI parking lots and ramps to one hour after each home game. All tailgating activities must be concluded within two hours. No alcohol will be allowed followed the Hawkeyes' October 2 night game against Penn State.

Law enforcement officials plan to also target drinkRead More...

Defense evidence in Nick Adenhart not admissible

Bethany Eanes — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:13:36 +0100

An Orange County judge ruled on Wednesday that the attorney for the man accused of driving under the influence in an accident that took the life of Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart cannot introduce evidence the driver of Adenhart's car was drinking.

According to Judge Richard Toohey, blood alcohol tests showing Courtney Stewart, 20, had a BAC of .16 percent is "irrelevant." The .16 percent test was one of two, with the other test only revealing a BAC of .06 percenRead More...

Missouri law creates central drunk driving offense database

Dan Jaffe — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:49:09 +0100

The new Missouri DWI laws are in effect as of August 28, 2010. House Bill 1695, signed by Governor Jay Nixon in June of this year, changed several provision of the laws. Many of the changes will have a direct impact on repeat offenders or those registering a high blood alcohol content (BAC) level by blood or breath tests. The new law includes many changes.

It creates a centralized reporting database to track all driving while impaired offenses, from arrest to disposition. It prevents mRead More...

Wrong-way 405 accident leads to California DUI charge

Bethany Eanes — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:03:53 +0100

A wrong-way driver on the 405 Freeway in North Hills, CA, ended with charges of drunken driving and possession of a controlled substance Saturday morning.

22-year-old Luis Castro, a Sylmar resident, was allegedly driving North in the southbound lane of the 405 near Nordhoff Street, in the Northridge/Panorama City area of the San Bernardino Valley, North of Los Angeles.

Castro is blamed for causing two separate accidents. The first occurred when a Honda CRV swerved into another lRead More...

California DUI case leads Roy Ashburn to gay rights movement

Bethany Eanes — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:53:18 +0100

The saga surrounding Roy Ashburn's March 4 arrest for drunk driving continues to unfold, as the previously outspoken anti-gay activist uses the event to spur a gay rights campaign.

Ashburn was pulled over after leaving a gay bar in Sacramento, and he had a male companion with him at the time of his arrest. The Senator, a divorced father of 4, of a conservative district, Ashburn has decided to take a new approach to the issue.

He provided an exclusive interview to On Top MagazinRead More...

4-year sentence in Los Angeles vehicular manslaugher case

Bethany Eanes — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:50:38 +0100

Following a plea of no contest to a 2009 DUI vehicular manslaughter, Paul Kyu Kim, 21, was sentenced to four years in prison.

The accident occurred on July 2, 2009 when Kim was traveling home from RA Sushi in Torrance. Kim admitted he had been drinking with friends at the restaurant. He was 20 at the time of the accident, and he also admitted to purchasing beverages with the use of a fake ID. He was allegedly traveling up to 110 mph in his vehicle on the 710 Freeway when he struckRead More...

Suspected Red Bluff, CA, DUI crash injures 5

Bethany Eanes — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:32:46 +0100

One man was charged with DUI following a crash early Sunday morning that injured 5 individuals.

The accident occurred just after midnight when Dickie Wayne Puckett, 57, was traveling on Antelope Boulevard in Red Bluff, Tehama County, California. Officers discovered Puckett had been driving west down Antelope when he clipped the back of a car parked on the shoulder of the road. The car, smaller than Puckett's pick up truck, was sent spinning into the yard of a local residence.

TwRead More...

Oregon Judge Sentences Milwaukee Drunk Driver to Five Years

Debora Reynolds — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 19:14:56 +0100

Clackamas County Circuit Judge Robert D. Herndon sentenced Katie Warren, 22, to five years in prison and suspended her driver’s license for life, in February of this year.

Ms. Warren, who is from Milwaukee, was on a rafting trip down the Clackamas River with friends. She had been drinking all day and became separated from them. She then asked Chester Raimer, 48, for help finding her friends. After her friends were found Ms. Warren offered to drive them all, including Mr. RaimRead More...

After Appeal, Kentucky DUI-homicide Defendant Pleads Guilty

Debora Reynolds — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 12:24:57 +0100

A Jessamine County, Kentucky woman has pleaded guilty for the second time to charges stemming from a 2006 crash that killed four people, while driving under the influence of alcohol. Melissa Helton was the subject of much litigation, including a 2008 Kentucky Supreme Court case.

According to The Lexington Herald-Leader Melissa Helton pleaded guilty to four counts of wanton murder, one count of wanton endangerment and driving under the influence.

The four victims were pasRead More...

Houston Drunk Driver gets 40 Years

Debora Reynolds — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 00:08:53 +0100

13-year-old Nicole Lalime was just getting off the school bus, excited about Christmas break, when a drunk John Jacob Winne ran three stop signs, hit the school bus and ran over Nicole in December 2008.

The young girl had survived surgery, the previous year, for scoliosis and had a newer, happier, perspective about life.

Nicole was an artist and signed it with the name, Lillyh Rainbow.

“She stood up for the underdog,” Valoree Lalime said Read More...

Former Chairman of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority Charged with DUI

Debora Reynolds — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 17:54:14 +0100

Matthew Amorello, the former chairman of the MA turnpike authority, who was ousted by the MA Governor, in 2006, after part of a tunnel ceiling collapsed and killed a woman.

Mr. Amorello was charged with driving under the influence and leaving the scene after causing damage to property. The Haverhill, MA police spokesman said Mr. Amorello continued driving after striking two vehicles before the police were able to pull him over.

"My brother, like anyone elsRead More...

Widower of Illinois DUI homicide victim gets settlement

Debora Reynolds — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:56:10 +0100

A Chicago strip club has paid a one million dollar settlement, the maximum allowed by their insurance company, to the husband of April Simmons and family of John Chiariello.

Ms. Simmons, 27, who was eight months pregnant, was hit head on by a car driven by John Homatas. John Chiariello was a passenger in Mr. Homatas' car.

The two men had gotten drunk at Diamonds Gentlemen's Club, escorted out and put in their car, by the bouncers. They then drove off, killing Ms. SimmonsRead More...

Daughter of Illinois Woman Killed by DUI Driver Files Suit

Debora Reynolds — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:03:57 +0100

On May 6 of this year Oswaldo Gonzalez, 36, of Little Village, Illinois, allegedly drove through several stop signs at high speeds before hitting Alicia Pedroza's SUV. Ms. Pedroza, who was 58, was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. Three other passengers in Ms. Pedroza's vehicle, which included an infant, were also injured.

When Mr. Gonzalez was apprehended, the police had to use a tazer to subdue him. Mr. Gonzalez, charged with Reckless Homicide and several other unspeciRead More...

Big Brother Cast Member Charged With Illinois Aggravated DUI

Debora Reynolds — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 14:44:07 +0100

Tonya L. Casper, former cast member of Big Brother has been charged with aggravated DUI in Sangamon County, Illinois. Along with that charge were charges of Speeding, Reckless Driving, two counts of Reckless Conduct, DUI and Reckless Homicide.

She was arrested in May of this year and is being held on a one million dollar bond or one hundred thousand dollars cash bail.

The accident,which happened in July of 2009, caused a five car collision and killed two people, Cameron WeRead More...

Illinois Woman Sentenced to Fifteen Years in DUI Crash

Debora Reynolds — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 13:36:03 +0100

Sandra Vasquez was sentenced to fifteen years in jail for a car crash that killed five teens in 2007. She was drunk at the time of the accident.

Ms. Vasquez collapsed in the courtroom after hearing the testimony and verdict.

She was charged with aggravated DUI and reckless homicide, which carries a sentence of up to twenty-eight years.

Kendall County, Illinois Judge, Clint Hall, sentenced Ms. Vasquez Friday after hearing testimony from the relatives of the young victims aRead More...

Huntington Beach DUI suspects may be listed publicly

Bethany Eanes — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:54:30 +0100

In order to curb DUI offenses, Huntington Beach, CA, police may begin posting the names of DUI suspects on the police department's website.

DUI suspects in the area have undergone this type of punishment in the past; they were listed in the local Huntington Beach Independent for years. However, the paper will no longer publish the names due to a change in policy, and the police department is considering taking on the job itself.

Huntington Beach posts among the highest number ofRead More...

Tehama County to participate in California DUI crackdown

Bethany Eanes — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:46:44 +0100

Tehama County announced its participation in the state-wide anti-DUI campaign to take place between now and September 6.

The county is aiming to reduce traffic fatalities during a normally dangerous month on the road. Officials say the county has already reduced fatalities nearly 30 percent in three years through the use of checkpoints, a task force, roving saturation patrols and probation sweeps. The county is calling this particular event the "Avoid the Five" campaign, aiming enforceRead More...

Lindsay Lohan driving after California DUI jailtime

Bethany Eanes — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:54:46 +0100

Lindsay Lohan's high profile DUI case has concluded this week with the starlet receiving full driving privileges after her release from rehabilitation.

Lohan served 14 days in jail and 22 days in rehabilitation following her 2007 DUI conviction and subsequent jail sentence for multiple probation violations. She served only a fraction of her original 90-day prison sentence due to "overcrowding" of the prison. Lohan made headlines again this week after showing up at a DMV to get heRead More...

Bell City Manager pleads guilty to California DUI

Bethany Eanes — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:44:23 +0100

Former Bell City, California, city manager, Robert Rizzo, pleaded guilty to a DUI charge stemming from a March arrest in Huntington Beach.

The 56-year-old man accepted a plea deal to one count of DUI with a BAC over .2 percent; his BAC was recorded at .28 percent at the time of his arrest. The elevated BAC can result in increased charges in the state of California.

Rizzo was stopped after police received a 911 call from a concerned citizen. The witness watched Rizzo drive past hRead More...