Families of victims killed in DUI crashes rally in support of bill calling for increased penalties

Fifteen Pennsylvania familes held photos of family members killed in DUI-related crashes in the state capitol Tuesday in support of Senate Bill 961, which seeks to increase penalties for repeat DUI offenders.

The families shared their stories of how their loved ones’ lives were cut short due to the poor choices made by drivers who were under the influence, many of which who were repeat offenders.

One of the family members referred to vehicles operated by drunk drivers as “4,000-pound weapons.”

Another woman, Kelly, talked about her nephew Zachary Gonzalez. He was 15 years old when he was killed by a driver under the influence of drugs. Gonzalez was riding his bike at the time.

“We had custody of Zachary because his father was killed when he (Zachary) was 3 years old by a drunk driver crossing the street,” Kelly said. “A small family of four, two lost, by others’ choices to drive impaired.”

Senate Bill 961 would make the following changes to existing laws:

A felony penalty for a third DUI within 10 years if the third offense involves a blood-alcohol content of .16 or higher, and in all other cases after the fourth offense
Increased penalites for homicide by vehicle while DUI, which is currently a 3-year minimum.
If convicted of a prior DUI, the minimum setnence for causing death would be 5 years.
If convicted of two or more prior DUIs, the minimum sentence for causing a death would be 7 years.
Increased penalties for driving while under a DUI-related license suspension.
According to PA Parents Against Impaired Driving, repeat DUI offenders are responsible for approximately 40 percent of all DUI-related fatalities, and there are over 50,0000 new DUI cases in the state annually.

“The purpose of this law is so that no other families will have to stand here holding a picture .. with their loved one’s photo,” said Sen. John Rafferty. “We have drawn the line and said ‘no more is this going to continue in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.'”

Read the full article here.

For more local DUI news and information please visit https://www.toronto-dui-lawyer.ca/

Blue Jays great Kelly Gruber arrested for drunk driving

Former Blue Jays great Kelly Gruber struck out with cops in Austin when they pulled him over on suspicion of drunk driving.

The legendary third baseman — who won a Golden Glove award in 1990 — was pinched for allegedly driving while intoxicated early Saturday, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

Cops say that the 56-year-old two-time All-Star was pulled over at 2:20 a.m. by Austin police after officers noticed that Gruber’s signal indicator had been on for a while.

The Texas native later was spotted driving 132 km/h — nearly 30 km/h over the speed limit.

Gruber admitted he had been drinking before getting behind the wheel, according to an affidavit.

A member of the 1992 World Series champion Jays, Gruber refused a breathalyzer test, field sobriety test and having his blood drawn.

He was booked into the Travis County Jail and released on $3,000 bail.

Gruber toiled for the Jays from 1984 to 1992 and was the first member of the expansion team to hit for the cycle.

After being traded to the California Angels two months after the World Series win, Gruber was plagued by a slew of injuries. He finally hung up his spikes in 1997 after an ill-fated comeback with the Baltimore Orioles.

In retirement, Gruber has worked as a motivational speaker and holds baseball seminars in Canada and the U.S.

Read the full article here: https://torontosun.com/sports/baseball/toronto-blue-jays/blue-jays-great-kelly-gruber-arrested-for-drunk-driving

For more local DUI news and information please visit https://www.toronto-dui-lawyer.ca/

Driver charged with DUI after falling asleep at gas station

The Rapid City Police Department charged a Rapid City women with DUI on Monday afternoon after she was found sleeping in her running car at a gas station.

Katherine Thompson, 33, was found unconscious in the idling car around 3:30 p.m. near the Mobile gas station pumps at 3851 Eglin St. in Rapid City. Witnesses say Thompson had been there for more than an hour, according to a press release from the police department.

Police found the doors to the vehicle locked and attempted to knock on the windows to wake the driver. The driver eventually woke up and opened the door. Police noted the strong smell of an alcoholic beverage and the driver could not stand without assistance.

Upon further investigation, police located an open alcohol container in the vehicle, and Thompson was place under arrest for DUI and open container in a motor vehicle.

Read the full article here.

For more local DUI news and information please visit https://www.toronto-dui-lawyer.ca/

Toronto man charged with DUI homicide in Bensalem

A husband and wife from Northampton planned to have a few drinks while out at Parx Casino in Bensalem last month, according to Bucks County prosecutors.

So rather than drive themselves, they arranged to take a Lyft ride.

They never made it to their destination.

Shortly before 7 p.m. April 28, Bensalem police say a Ford F-150 pickup slammed head-on into the Chevrolet Malibu that had picked them up.

Neil Weiner, his wife Audrey Shapiro, and Lyft driver Daniel Weingart were rushed to Jefferson-Torresdale Hospital in Philadelphia where Weiner, 57, died May 1.

Now authorities have charged the driver of the pickup truck, Shane Learn, 48, of Toronto, Canada, with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and related offenses, court records show.

In an affidavit of probable cause, police said Learn’s truck struck the guardrail in the 4000 block of Richlieu Road and then crossed the double-yellow line into the opposite lane of travel where it collided with the Malibu heading south.

Read the full article here: https://www.toronto-dui-lawyer.ca/

Las Vegas lawyer who defends DUI cases facing own DUI charge

A Las Vegas attorney who often defends drunken driving suspects is facing a bench trial after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
 
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports 56-year-old John Leo Duffy was arrested March 3 and a bench trial for him is scheduled for July 9.
 
According to a criminal complaint, Duffy was booked into the Clark County Detention Center and later charged with DUI and failure to maintain a lane.
 
Duffy was released on his own recognizance.
 
Because Duffy works closely with the vehicular crimes unit of the county district attorney’s office, the Nevada Attorney General’s Office has been asked to handle the prosecution of the case.
 
A county commission is scheduled to vote Tuesday on handing the case to the state AG’s Office.

Read the full article here: https://www.570news.com/2018/05/13/las-vegas-lawyer-who-defends-dui-cases-facing-own-dui-charge/

For more local DUI news and information please visit https://www.toronto-dui-lawyer.ca/

Canadian ski cross racer David Duncan apologizes after drunken joyride at Olympics

Canadian ski cross racer Dave Duncan is apologizing for “behaviour that demonstrated poor judgement” after being released from jail following an alleged drunken joyride at the Pyeongchang Games.

The Canadian Olympic Committee confirmed in a statement Sunday that Duncan, his wife Maja and Canadian technical coach William Raine had been detained by police in South Korea and were now released. The statement came after an investigator with the Gangwon Provincial Police Department told The Canadian Press the two Canadians and an American woman were arrested for drunk driving and stealing a car.

A joint statement from the Duncans offering an apology did not offer specifics, saying only their behaviour “was not up to the standards expected of us as members of the Canadian Olympic Team or as Canadians.” But Raine singled out “the owner of the vehicle that was involved” in his statement.

“I would like to apologize profusely for my inexcusable actions,” Raine said. “Words are not enough to express how sorry I am. I have let my teammates, friends and my family down.”

Raine is the son of Canadian skiing legend Nancy Greene.

Read the full article here: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/olympics/canadian-athlete-wife-manager-allegedly-steal-car-and-drive-drunk-in-winter-olympics/article38104346/

For more local DUI news and information please visit https://www.toronto-dui-lawyer.ca/

Police plan DUI enforcements on St. Paddy’s weekend

St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Saturday this year, which means many people will celebrate all weekend long.

Police will keep their Irish eyes peeled for impaired drivers.

If you drink green beer, be prepared to see red and blue lights in the review mirror. All weekend long, police will be cracking down on partygoers who choose to drive impaired.

According to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, binge drinking is a big issue for Americans — and not just on holidays.

In 2015, Americans drank more than 17 billion drinks annually; that’s 470 drinks per binge drinker. Half of the bingers are over the age of 35 and 80 percent are men.

State police want to remind people who plan to have one or two drinks that the consequences of buzzed driving are the same as drunk driving.

“With DUI enforcement, the purpose is to save lives,” Trooper Brent Miller said. “We have to take those drivers who are drinking or using illegal drugs [off the road] when they choose to get behind the wheel.”

There are many ways people can avoid needing to fight impaired driving charges. Police encourage anyone drinking to download the Safer Ride app, which can call a taxi or predetermined friend as well as share your location.

Police also encourage you to use transportation services such taxis, Uber and Lyft to party responsibly.

Read the full article here: https://abc27.com/2018/03/16/police-plan-dui-enforcements-on-st-paddys-weekend/

For more local DUI news and information please visit https://www.toronto-dui-lawyer.ca/

Woman unfit to care for horse after DUI while riding

by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Posted Dec 30, 2017 2:17 pm EST Last Updated Dec 30, 2017 at 3:00 pm EST
BARTOW, Fla. – A Florida judge says a sheriff’s office must retain custody of a horse whose owner was charged with drunken driving while riding the animal.

In a report by The Ledger , Polk County Judge Sharon Franklin said 53-year-old Donna Byrne was unfit to care for the horse. Franklin also said Byrne must complete treatment for alcohol addiction.

Byrne was arrested Nov. 2 after riding her horse down a highway. Police said her blood-alcohol level twice Florida’s legal limit.

Byrne’s attorney, Craig Whisenhunt, says he will revisit the custody issue at a Jan. 11 hearing regarding additional pending charges of disorderly intoxication, animal endangerment and culpable negligence.

Whisenhunt questions whether the charges applied to Byrne, saying she had not been disorderly and was a pedestrian under the law.

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Information from: The Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.), https://www.theledger.com

Read the full article here: https://www.680news.com/2017/12/30/judge-woman-unfit-to-care-for-horse-after-dui-while-riding/

For more local DUI news and information please visit our website https://www.toronto-dui-lawyer.ca/

DUI solutions that target drinking not driving

Most people who get a DUI do not get another.

Most people who get more than one DUI do not get arrested while awaiting the outcome of their first offense.

However, a small but persistent group of habitual offenders remain.

At least 1,400 people were charged with more than one DUI in Pennsylvania outside of Philadelphia in 2016, according to an analysis of court records conducted by The Sentinel.

Nearly 100 of those people were charged with more than two, The Sentinel found.

Each time they get behind the wheel intoxicated, the outcome can be catastrophic.

“It truly can cause some of the most horrific crashes and deaths,” said David Drumheller, traffic safety resource prosecutor for the Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Association. “You can be out with your family driving home from the movies completely law abiding, and next thing you know you’re hit by a drunk driver and your life is changed as you know it.”

In recent years, a new approach to dealing with intoxicated driving has begun to take hold.

Traditional methods focus on the driving aspect of impaired driving by doing things like revoking a person’s driver’s license or requiring the driver to install an ignition interlock that tests for alcohol on the driver’s breath before allowing the vehicle to start.

In some areas, the focus has shifted to the other part of the equation — drinking.

Read the full article here: https://cumberlink.com/news/local/closer_look/over-the-limit-dui-solutions-that-target-drinking-not-driving/article_66f90bd4-d79a-5bc2-a020-57d203146910.html

For more local DUI news and information please visit our website https://www.toronto-dui-lawyer.ca/

Mom driving with baby arrested for DUI and peeing on a cop

A Florida mom suspected of driving drunk with a baby in the back seat was also accused of urinating on an officer during her arrest.

Nichole Nespolini, 40, of Melbourne, was arrested Monday after rear-ending another car at an intersection in Melbourne, where Nespolini then pleaded with the motorist not to notify police, Florida Today reported.

When cops arrived on the scene, Nespolini walked into traffic and began pushing an officer in the chest and stood on her toes at one point to yell in an officer’s face, according to an arrest report.

Then, as three cops started putting Nespolini in handcuffs, she said, according to the report: “I’m peeing and I hope it gets on you!”

Nespolini then started urinating on an officer’s foot before kicking another cop in the groin as she was taken into a police cruiser. Officers at that point discovered a baby secured in a child seat in the back seat of Nespolini’s car.

The father of the child responded to the scene to pick up the baby as Nespolini was taken to a hospital before being taken into custody at the Braved County Jail. She remains in custody as of early Thursday on $18,500 bond, jail records show.

Nespolini is facing charges of driving under the influence, DUI with property damages, child neglect, resisting an officer with violence, resisting an officer without violence and battery on a law enforcement officer.

Read the full article here: https://nypost.com/2018/02/15/mom-driving-with-baby-arrested-for-dui-and-peeing-on-a-cop/

For more local DUI news and information please visit our website https://www.toronto-dui-lawyer.ca/