Drunk Driving Articles: DUI News and Information

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.

WLTX reported that Ted Vick, who is the District 53rd member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, has been arrested and charged with a DUI. Vick was charged on the grounds of the South Carolina State House just before 11 p.m. Tuesday night. According to the police report, an officer from the Bureau of Protective Services saw Vick tripping and  struggling to keep a balanced posture. The officer even stated that Vick had to brace himself to keep from falling on a wall next to the entrance of the State House garage. The officer continued with his statements by saying that they saw Vick get into his car and tried to drive out even though several officers yelled at him to stop. After a couple of more commands, he finally parked the car. However, Vick refused to take a field sobriety test and resisted arrest by trying to pull away. Once he was taken to jail, he told authorities that he had been at Cowboy Brazilian Stakehouse on Main Street in Columbia where he’d had two glasses of wine, then walked back to the State House garage. It was noted that this was Vick’s second DUI arrest since last year. He was released from jail on a personal recognizance bond. Reporters attempted to question him about the incident but all he said was, “I regret this happened, obviously, but I remain innocent until proven guilty.”

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

Eugene Miller, a Cleveland City Councilman was sentenced on May 14, 2013 for a DUI he received in November of 2012. As a result of his DUI, Miller has had his driver’s license revoked and was given a $250 fine plus court costs which totaled to $486 with time to pay. The Cleveland Councilman was pulled over on November 1, 2012 at around 1 a.m. for speeding on his way home from a college football game. According to the ticket issued by police, Miller was cited for speeding, going 70 mph in a 50 mph zone.

Police said that while his blood alcohol content was .056%, which is below the legal limit of .08%, they were still able to determine that he was an impaired driver. Miller was arrested for OVI (Operating a Vehicle while Impaired), which is a similar offense to DUI in Ohio. Miller’s OVI case was amended and his speeding charged dropped after he plead not guilty to DUI. Since Miller is a Cleveland City Councilman, all of the Municipal Court Judges recused themselves from hearing the case and visiting judge Michael Weigand from Barberton heard the case instead. Since Miller’s license was suspended immediately following his arrest, his licence will be reinstated on May 24.

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

The NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) has recommended that states begin cutting their threshold for drunk driving by almost half in an effort to reduce highway deaths as a result of DUI. The NTSB has cited a report that states more than 100 countries have already reduced the legal drinking limit to .05% from .08% that attributed to approximately fifty percent less traffic deaths as a result of drunk driving over a span of 10 years. Women weighing less than 120 pounds can reach .05% after just one drink, while men weighing less than 160 can reach .05% after two drinks.

Of the 30,000 people killed on U.S. highways each year, one third of those deaths are a result of drunk driving. NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said, “Our goal is to get to zero deaths because each alcohol-impaired death is preventable. Alcohol-impaired deaths are not accidents, they are crimes. They can and should be prevented. The tools exist. What is needed is the will“. Jonathan Adkins, an official with the Governors Highway Safety Association, said that getting the blood alcohol content (BAC) threshold lowered to .08% was difficult and that the prospect of lowering it again would most likely be met with strong resistance. Adkins also said that “The focus in the states is on high (blood alcohol content) offenders as well as repeat offenders. We expect industry will also be very vocal about keeping the limit at .08“.

The NTSB has also pushed the auto industry and safety administration to increase their research into a technology in all cars that could detect whether a driver has an elevated BAC without the use of ignition interlock devices, which require the driver to blow into a machine before the vehicle will start. The board has also recommended passive alcohol devices that can be used in flashlights or in small cell phone like devices that would alert an officer if the driver in close proximity to them is intoxicated. Those technologies may be years away from implementation but the NTSB believes the use of those devices would help to reduce the number of drunk drivers on the road. Since the legal alcohol threshold was reduced to .08% in 1982, the number of drunk driving deaths has fallen from 18,000 to 10,000.

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

Twenty-three Chicago teenagers may never forget their prom night after the man driving their party bus was arrested for DUI following a terrifying drive through town. According to some of the teenagers, 54 year-old Richard Madison was over half an hour late to pick them up and was unable to stay on the road during their drive. One of the students, Kelsey Dano, said “I had a feeling he was drunk when we first went into the ditch. He hopped over a median and cut off 3 cars and then…he took us to the wrong hotel, he took us to the Hyatt hotel instead of Abbington Place so we had 5 more miles to go“.

Madison, the party bus driver, said that he was not drunk that night and blamed mechanical problems for the erratic driving. A spokesperson for Limos Alive, the company that Madison drives for, said that there were no mechanical problems with the party bus after an inspection and that Madison has been fired since the incident took place. Dano also said that when Madison got off of the bus he was stumbling and had bloodshot eyes. Police found that Madison had a blood alcohol content (BAC) level of .22%, almost triple the legal limit. Madison was arrested for misdemeanor charges of DUI and reckless conduct, although he still believes he is innocent. In a statement, Madison said, “You know, if I was guilty, I would still be in jail. That’s my thought. I would not be at home right now“.

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