Man Imprisoned for DWI and Hitting Police Car

This past Sunday, September 25, 2012, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Ronald Bollinger, of age 50, hit Officer James Zeidler’s patrol car with his Chevy Tahoe due to DWI. Officer James Zeidler’s patrol car was hit approximately at 10:40 p.m. while he was on duty. Zeidler was stationed on the southbound lane of Interstate 55, trying to slow down traffic in order to stop a man from jumping the Hopper Street overpass. Police spokesman, Darin Hickey, stated that “Zeidler’s car was positioned on the road with lights flashing when the crash occurred.”

Luckily, Zeidler did not receive any wounds because he was able to get out of the patrol car before it got hit. On the other hand, Hickey claimed that “Bollinger may have received some minor injuries, but refused medical treatment at the scene…he was checked out by medical personnel later after the crash.” Bollinger was immediately arrested for DWI. In addition, he received charges for NOT: yielding to an emergency vehicle, driving within a single lane, and wearing a seat belt. Due to privacy issues, no additional information regarding Bollinger was released.

If you or someone you know has been arrested for drunk driving, contact a skilled Missouri DWI attorney for legal assistance.

Diamond Taylor Of SUI Basketball Gets Arrested For DUI

Diamond Taylor, a guard with the Southern Illinois University basketball team was arrested for DUI on September 22, 2012. Apparently, head coach Barry Hinson has already suspended Taylor indefinitely and stated that he is “extremely disappointed in Diamond“. Taylor has been a rising star with the Salukis, playing 27 games and making 9 starts with the team last year. Hinson also said that he met with the Diamond Taylor early Monday morning and “issued a challenge to him to become a first-class student and resident of Carbondale. How he responds will determine his status going forward“.

This isn’t the first time Diamond Taylor has been in trouble though. In September of 2009, Taylor was arrested and charged with burglary as well as underage drinking at the University of Wisconsin. Taylor and another basketball player both admitted to sneaking into unlocked dorm rooms, stealing ipods, a cell phone and around $400 in cash. Taylor withdrew from the school before they could place him on any disciplinary action. It is still unclear how long Taylor will be placed on suspension and what course the University may choose to take in regard to his DUI charge.

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

Drivers in New Mexico have another reason not to drink and drive in the form of a trendy new smartphone app. The New Mexico’s Department of Transportation has unveiled a new app called ENDWI that provides users with several tools including some that can test their ability to drive, call a cab or find a designated driver. Initially, the app, released on September 5, was only available for Android users, although officials said that it should be available to iphone users in just a couple of weeks.

Since the app was unveiled in Sante Fe, over 1000 people have downloaded it to mixed reviews. So far, the app has a rating of 2.7 out of 5 stars and allows users to compile lists of designated drivers as well as games to test your sobriety. The games are far from perfect though and some complain that you may have to play a couple of times sober before even understanding the objectives of the games. Kinks still have to be worked out, such as one persons attempt to call a cab using the app which just transferred him to a car rental company. Another person said they had around 9 shots of whiskey and the app said their BAC(Blood Alcohol Content) level was just .04%, which is clearly off. Authorities hope that with time, the app and its features will improve with the goal of “zero deaths“, says cabinet secretary Alvin Dominguez.

If you or someone you know has been arrested for driving drunk, contact a skilled New Mexico DWI attorney for legal assistance.

High BAC: Police Arrest Man With BAC Level of .58%

Police in Koscuisko County, Indiana stumbled upon a man sitting in his car on the side of the road in the early morning hours of September 16, 2012 and found that he was severely drunk. The 28 year old driver, Bradley Wine, had apparently ran out of gas, however, police were shocked to find that he has a Blood Alcohol Content(BAC) level of .548%, which is 7 times the legal limit of .08%. Authorities believe that Wine was driving on County Road 250 earlier that morning when he ran out of gas and continued to drink until they found him.

His high BAC level is shocking because medical professionals will usually tell you that .40% can be deadly while most people tend to pass out having a high BAC level of .30%. Wine was transferred to Kasciusko Community Hospital in critical condition. If police found Wine’s BAC to be .548% using a breathalyzer machine, chances are blood lab results taken at the hospital could reveal his BAC level to be even higher since blood tests are generally more accurate. Officers were apparently responding to a call about an abandoned vehicle when they found Wine in his car. The Kasciusko County Sheriff’s Department said that the blood test results and information gathered at the scene would be forwarded to the prosecutors office for potential charges.

If you or someone you know has been arrested for driving drunk, contact an experienced and skilled Indiana DUI attorney for legal assistance.

Drunk Driving Causes Oklahoma Car Accident

Bartlesville, Oklahoma police accused a mid 40’s year old female driver, Angel Lynn Brown, of drunk driving and made her responsible for causing a single-car rollover accident on Wednesday. Police said the drunk driving car wreck occurred when Brown was drunk driving northbound on Virginia and drifted off the road into a ditch and right through a barbed-wire fence where the car landed on its roof.

Brown was given a breath analyzer test by law enforcement officials, where she showed a blood-alcohol level higher than .08 percent. Evidently, Brown surpassed Oklahoma’s limit of .08 percent and was then arrested for drunk driving.

Officer Steven Silver claims that “officers tested her after they noticed the smell of alcohol on her breath and in the interior of her sedan found upside-down near the intersection of Virginia Avenue and Palmetto Drive.” 
Luckily, the police arrived while Brown was trying to get out of the car. Officer Silver states that while Brown was attempting to get out of the accident, she told the officials “I gotta get outta here.” Miraculously, no other lives were hurt or taken. However, Brown was still responsible for a $500 bond.

If you or someone you know has been arrested for drunk driving, contact a skilled Oklahoma DUI attorney for legal assistance.

LA DUI Checkpoints Scheduled For The Weekend

This weekend the Los Angeles Police Department has officially declared two L.A. DUI/driver’s license checkpoints in Downtown L.A. and Studio City, hoping it will slow down the rate of vehicle accidents and deaths related to alcohol consumption. The Downtown LA DUI checkpoint will be in effect from Friday 8 p.m. till Sunday 2 a.m, and will be located on Figueroa Street between Eighth and Ninth streets. Studio City DUI checkpoint will be located on Ventura Boulevard between the streets of Canyon Drive and Colfax Avenue from Friday 8 p.m. till Saturday 2 a.m.

According to Sergeant Karmody from Traffic Coordination Section, “L.A. DUI collisions have claimed about 30 lives and caused over 2,000 injuries over the past two years.” Some L.A. locals worry that releasing L.A. DUI checkpoint information allows drunk drivers to escape and go through other routes. On the other hand, “Research shows that crashes involving alcohol drop by an average of 20 percent when well-publicized checkpoints are conducted often enough.” If arrested, drunk drivers may be harshly penalized by receiving jail time, license suspension, insurance increases, or other legal fees that might easily exceed $10,000.

If you or someone you know has been arrested for drunk driving, contact a skilled California DUI attorney for legal assistance.

Michael Turner, Atlanta Falcons Running Back Arrested For DUI

Michael Turner, a running back with the Atlanta Falcons was arrested for DUI just hours after his team won 27-21 over the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football. On September 17, Turner was arrested for DUI while driving in Gwinnett County, Georgia and booked at the county jail around 5 in the morning. The running back was released after a few hours in jail on a $2,179 bond. It is likely that Michael Turner was initially pulled over for a routine traffic stop since he is also being charged with speeding.

Mike Smith, the head coach for the Falcons said, “We’re aware of the situation with Michael, but it’s really not appropriate to comment on it” and “We’ll keep the communication internal with myself and Michael, and we’ll deal with it as it progresses“. Generally, the NFL has been known to discipline players for legal issues outside the league but commissioner Roger Goodell has stated that disciplinary action is usually considered after the legal process has run its course. This would most likely leave Turner available to play for the remainder of the 2012 season since a trial and sentencing could last well into 2013. Michael Turner signed on to the Falcons in 2008 with a 6 year, $34 million contract of which he is currently in his 5th season of.

If you or someone you know has been arrested for driving drunk, contact a skilled and experienced Georgia DUI attorney for legal assistance.