Drunk Driving Articles and News

Mark Jason Day, a repeat DUI offender, was arrested for DUI and charged with felony injury to a child on May 18, 2013. The incident occurred in Ada County early Saturday afternoon when police pulled the repeat DUI offender over during a routine traffic violation. Upon interrogating Day, the arresting officer noticed that he displayed symptoms of alcohol intoxication and conducted several field sobriety tests. After failing the sobriety tests, the officer placed Day under arrest and transferred him to the Ada County Jail.

Police later found that Day had a blood alcohol content (BAC) level of .23%, which is nearly triple the legal limit of .08%. Since Day is a repeat DUI offender and has 3 prior DUI convictions, his latest charge is a felony. Day also had his child in the vehicle with him at the time of the arrest and since his child is under the age of 10 years old, Day was charged with injury to a child as well. If Day is convicted for the felony DUI charge, he could face up to five years in prison. Day could also face one to ten years in prison if convicted for injury to a child.

If you have been arrested for driving drunk, contact an experienced and skilled Idaho DUI attorney for legal assistance.

Josh Portis, a backup quarterback with the Seattle Seahawks, was arrested for DUI on May 5, 2013. The incident occurred around 9:30 p.m. after an officer caught Portis speeding as he exited on the Mount Baker Tunnel. According to police, Portis was driving his 2008 Range Rover at 80 mph in a 60 mph zone. When the officer began to interrogate the Seahawks quarterback, he noticed that Portis displayed symptoms of alcohol intoxication such as watery, bloodshot eyes and a strong odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle.

After conducting two separate breathalyzer tests, the officer found that Portis initially had a blood alcohol content (BAC) level of .092%, with a second test showing .078%. Since the legal limit in Washington being .08%, Portis was arrested for DUI and charged with gross misdemeanor. Portis has an arraignment hearing scheduled for May 28, 2013. Most major sports teams wait until the court process is over before penalizing players for incidents occurring off the field, however, according to the Tacoma News Tribune, the Seahawks have officially waived Portis after hearing about his arrest. Portis was resigned to the Seahawks in April 2013 with a 2-year $480,000 contract.

If you have been arrested for driving drunk, contact an experienced and skilled Washington DUI attorney for legal assistance.

Sarah Ricketts, a repeat DUI offender who is six months pregnant, was arrested for DUI again on May 20, 2013. The incident occurred at 9:45 p.m. in Vanderburgh County, Indiana when police observed the repeat DUI offender driving at 73 mph in a 50 mph zone. When the officer began interrogating Ricketts, he found that the vehicle had a strong odor of alcohol coming from it and saw an open vodka bottle sitting inside.

Police also found that Ricketts, who is six months pregnant, had a blood alcohol content (BAC) level of .19%, more than double the legal limit of .08%. Ricketts was then arrested and taken to Vanderburgh County Jail. Since Ricketts is a repeat DUI offender, she has been charged with driving while intoxicated with a prior DUI conviction, which is a Class D felony. Women who drink during pregnancy may not realize the negative impact it can have on an unborn child. According to the CDC, drinking alcohol during pregnancy could result in the baby being born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs), resulting in poor memory, physical deformities, and problems concerning the heart, kidneys or bones to name a few.

If you have been arrested for driving drunk, contact an experienced and skilled Indiana DUI attorney for legal assistance.

Jacqueline Walters Danforth, daughter of veteran reporter Barbara Walters, was arrested after a bizarre DUI incident on May 19, 2013 in Naples, Florida. The incident occurred after police received calls about an SUV stopped on the highway without its lights on. The SUV in question was a Honda Pilot driven by Jacqueline Walters with her boyfriend in the passenger seat, whom officers say were both heavily intoxicated. According to officers, when one of the police began to place Danforth’s boyfriend in hancuffs, she grabbed one of the officers and began shouting.

According to the police report, Danforth had to be “taken to the ground” because officers feared she might run into traffic and hurt herself. In the police report, the officer that had to tackle Danforth said “I was afraid that the suspect may run into traffic on the highway, so she was taken to the ground due to her unpredictable behavior, then secured in handcuffs“. Jacqueline Walters Danforth eventually submitted a breathalyzer test that showed her blood alcohol content (BAC) level to be .218%, almost triple the legal limit of .08%. Danforth was arrested for DUI and released from jail after several hours after posting a $1,000 bond. Danforth is most famous for the discussion she had with her mom Barbara Walters about her troubled teenage years on a TV special.

If you have been arrested for driving drunk, contact an experienced and skilled Florida DUI attorney for legal assistance.

Jose Lumbreras, a graduate student at the University of California, could be sentenced up to 12 years in prison for vehicular manslaughter after being involved in a fatal DUI crash. The fatal DUI incident occurred on May 18, 2012 around 1 a.m. in Berkeley when Lumbreras crashed his Cadillac into a tree. Lumbreras’ girlfriend, Milanca Lopez was pronounced dead at the scene, while her 6 year-old son Xavier Chevez died a week later at the hospital. Police found that Lumbreras had a blood alcohol content (BAC) level of .219% at the scene of the crash, which is almost triple the legal driving limit.

According to police, Lumbreras was driving at approximately 64 mph at the time of the crash. Lumbreras, who was seriously injured in the accident, plead no contest to 2 counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and could be sentenced to 12 years in prison on June 11. Lumbreras is expected to graduate from the University of California Berkeley, majoring in social welfare and had planned to earn his masters degree at UCLA. Before attending the University of California Berkeley, Lumbreras graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 2010.

If you have been arrested for driving drunk, contact an experienced and skilled California DUI attorney for legal assistance.

The Pueblo Chieftain reported that a drunk driver in Pueblo, Colorado, Gilbert O. Sanchez, was sentenced today to 68 years in prison for killing three teens and injuring another two in a drunk driving accident that occurred in April 2012. Sanchez, 37 years old, killed Anisa Montoya, 18; Serina Sena, 14; and Selena Mascarenas, 14. He received 12 years for each death. In addition, he received 16 years for the child abuse of Jade Dorrance, 15, and Jordyn Carillo, 14. Both Dorrance and Carillo received serious bodily injuries and were thrown out from his truck bed in the drunk driving accident. It was noted that the court hearing, which lasted about three hours, caused a lot of pain to the families of the five girls. Sanchez wept through much of the hearing and said he had consumed four or five whiskey and colas the evening before the accident. In addition, Sanchez claimed not to have any recollection of the event that occurred during the time of the incident. He stated that he felt “buzzed” but tests determined that his blood alcohol level was between two and three times the legal limit. Sanchez tried to apologize to the families by saying, “I feel like the worst person on earth and I’m not…I’m sorry.”

If you have been arrested for driving drunk, contact an experienced and skilled Colorado DWI attorney for legal assistance.

University of Miami student Ivanna Villanueva was sentenced to 3 years in prison followed by 15 years of probation after a fatal DUI crash. Eyder Ayala, a mother of 5 and grandmother of 7 was killed in the fatal DUI and pronounced dead at the scene. The incident occurred at the intersection of LeJeune Rd and Majorca Ave where Villanueva crashed into Ayala’s car at a high rate of speed. According to a toxicology test, Villanueva had a blood alcohol content (BAC) level that was almost triple the legal limit of .08%.

Villanueva could have faced up to 20 years in prison for several charges filed against her, but changed her plea to guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence. On the night of the accident, Ayala’s family said they became worried when she didn’t come home from her job at a McDonalds, where she worked as a manager for more than 20 years. Eyder Ayala has since been buried in Nicaragua and her family has sued both Villanueva and her father. Ayala’s family filed the multi-million dollar lawsuit against Villanueva’s father as well because they believe he is liable for her conduct, saying she was not only speeding, but was reckless and negligent.

If you have been arrested for driving drunk, contact an experienced and skilled Florida DUI attorney for legal assistance.

It’s not uncommon for DWI offenders to come up with bizarre stories blaming everything but alcohol on a crash resulting from drunk driving, but one man claims he was attempting to time travel when he crashed into another car. Terrance Rudes, the driver who was attempting to time travel, was sentenced to 1 1/2 to 3 years after being convicted of vehicular assualt. After the crash, Rudes admitted to police that he was drunk and high on Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), which is known for its psychological effects, including an altered sense of time.

In September of 2012, Rudes was driving down Church Avenue in Ballston Spa, New York when he crossed over the center lane and intentionally crashed head on into another vehicle in an attempt to time travel. When police interrogated him, Rudes said, “I thought I could time travel and drive through (the other car)… I wanted to see what would happen“. Fortunately, the other driver that Rudes crashed into was not killed, but did sustain serious injuries. It would probably be best that Terrance Rudes not be allowed to drive on the road period, however, after serving his prison sentence he will be required to install an ignition interlock device in his vehicle for 3 years.

If you have been arrested for driving drunk, contact an experienced and skilled New York DWI attorney for legal assistance.

Scott E. McKenzie, a resident of Oakfield, New York, was arrested for DUI while take a cruise in his, 2011 Troy-Bilt lawmower…The incident occurred around 11 p.m. after an officer interrogated McKenzie and found that he was operating the mower while intoxicated. In addition to the lawnmower DUI, McKenzie was charged with failure to display a slow-moving vehicle emblem, operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs and unlawful possession of marijuana. While it isn’t unheard of for someone to be charged with a DUI while riding lawnmower, Genesee County Sheriff Gary Maha said it has been a long time since an incident this unusual has occurred in there town.

Sheriff Maha said in a statement that “We’ve had them on golf carts and tractors but not on lawn mowers, at least recently. We might have had one a long time ago“. Regarding the lawnmower DUI, Sheriff Maha said that many people are under the false assumption that you can’t be charged with drunk driving for operating small motor vehicles like lawnmowers, golf carts and tractors while drunk. For McKenzie, the whole ordeal has been more embarrassing than scary. After his arrest, McKenzie said “It was on the AM radio, man. It was on 1490 AM this morning. I’m like, ‘Oh my goodness, really? Everybody at the store is laughing at me, and let me tell you what I told one of my friends for real, that, look, I got a DWI for riding my lawn mower at 11:30 at night, and she laughed at me and laughed at me and, let me tell you what, it’s not right, it’s not right“.

If you have been arrested for driving drunk, contact an experienced and skilled New York DUI attorney for legal assistance.

DUI charges against New Jersey State Assemblyman Paul Moriarty have been officially dropped following the indictment of his arresting officer, Joseph DiBuonaventura. According to prosecutors, DiBuonaventura’s misconduct during the traffic stop have made it impossible to try Moriarty. The Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office made a statement saying they were “legally compelled to move for dismissal in the case against Moriarty. Officer DiBuonaventura was indicted on May 1, 2013, for filing false reports pertaining to the traffic stop that resulted in Paul Moriarty being charged with DUI in the first place.

Paul Moriarty was quick to deny the charges following his arrest, in which DiBuonaventura said he pulled the assemblyman over for an illegal lane change. According to the prosecutors office, the police dash cam video showed no illegal lane change, making the traffic stop a violation of Moriarty’s constitutional rights. Even though Paul Moriarty refused to submit an alcohol breath test, any evidence gathered after the illegal stop rendered evidence obtained after the stop inadmissible. In an investigation that has spanned several months, Moriarty has consistently denied the charges, saying he was unfairly targeted by Officer DiBuonaventura. Officer DiBuonaventura is currently suspended without pay pending the results of his case.

If you have been arrested for driving drunk, contact an experienced and skilled New Jersey DUI attorney for legal assistance.