Driver in Bradenton, Florida – A Florida Highway Patrol officer waiting at a red light in a marked police vehicle was struck from behind. Pedro Saravia, 31, was charged with DUI property damage, Florida DUI with personal injury, having no valid driver license and having an open container, as well operating a faulty vehicle.
Driver in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada – An unidentified motorist rear-ended a police cruiser occupied by three Halifax Regional Police officers. Though the cruiser was extensively damaged, none of the officers were injured. They exited the police car and arrested the driver of the other vehicle for drunk driving after he failed a breath test.
Driver in Boise, Idaho – Eric Orlando Garza, 25, was arrested for Idaho DUI after he slammed into two cars; one of them a police cruiser. Police were pursuing the speeding Garza when he struck another car head-on and then rammed the patrol car as he tried to back-up. Neither Garza or the police officer were hurt but the driver of the other vehicle suffered minor injuries.
Judges in Belleville, Illinois – The day before he was to be sworn in as St. Clair County Circuit Judge, Patrick M. Young, 58, was arrested for Illinois DUI. Young was “unstable in his stance, swaying forward and backwards’, but he refused to answer whether he had been drinking. Young’s passenger was St. Clair County Chief Judge Jan Fiss, 64, who also was set to take an oath of office the next morning. Fiss was seen emptying a can of beer and making several attempts to hide the can in an inside coat pocket before throwing it away. When asked what he did with the can he said he was told to “get rid of it.”
Judge in Indianapolis, Indiana – A Marion County superior court judge was arrested for drunk driving. John Hanley left an office Christmas party and nearly hit a police officer while driving home. His blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit and he was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated and public intoxication. Hanley is back on the bench, waiting for a decision from a judicial qualifications commission.
