Articles Posted in Drunk Driving in Massachusetts

A 53-year-old man is serving seven years in prison for driving while intoxicated. The reason for the lengthy sentence was the conviction was his 12th for impaired driving.

Despite the dozen past arrests for impaired driving, USA Today reported the inmate does not think of drunk driving as a crime.

This man is one of 30 in his home state with 12 or more drunk driving convictions.

Boston impaired driving lawyers knowthere are people all over the U.S. like this man who repeatedly drive while impaired. Some of them are caught, but many more are not identified or arrested.

Many struggle with addictions to drugs and alcohol that impact their ability to make smart choices about refraining from drinking and driving. For them, consumption of these substances feels normal, and it doesn’t stop them from going about their lives. But in so doing, they are putting themselves and other motorists at risk of a deadly collision.
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In December of 2012, Dallas Cowboys’ running back Josh Brent was behind the wheel during a fatal drunk driving car crash that killed friend and teammate Jerry Brown. In January of this year, Brent, who tested nearly two times the legal limit of .08, was sentenced by the judge to 180 days in jail followed by 10 years of probation.

According to a recent news article from ESPN, Brent spent nearly five months in jail and then 45 days at an alcohol and drug rehabilitation center before being released back into the community to start his probation. The Dallas Cowboys have reactivated Brent, and he is eligible to play for the team again after sitting out a 10-game suspension imposed by the NFL.

Brent says his goal in returning was to make sure Jerry Brown’s death was not in vain. He also said that Brown was a great player and had a great future in the NFL before being killed in the drunk driving car accident.
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Riding, as a passenger in a car with a drunk driver behind the wheel is very dangerous, yet people do it all the time. According to a recent news article from the Boston Herald, a man from Walpole was involved in a fatal rollover car crash in Hyde Park in which his female passenger was killed.

Authorities are reporting driver was operating a 2003 Honda Accord at 2:30 a.m. when he lost control of his vehicle. His car rolled over and came to stop just before a major intersection. The female passenger was pronounced dead at the scene, while driver was taken to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston to be treated for injuries before being taken to court for arraignment.

Prosecutors have indicated they intend to charge driver with operating under the influence (OUI), leaving the scene of personal injury (hit-and-run) and homicide while drunk driving. He was also cited with speeding and other traffic offenses.
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Hit-and-run drunk driving accidents that result in serious injury or death cause victims and family members enormous grief. Not only must aggrieved parties cope with the pain and loss caused by the crash, but then there is the added frustration of elusive justice.

According to a recent news report from WCVB 5 Boston, a pedestrian was struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver in Brockton. The at-fault driver reportedly fled the scene.

Authorities report the fatal accident occurred late at night.

EMS workers rushed the victim to the hospital where she was immediately taken into a surgical intensive care unit and then placed in critical care. Sadly, she soon died from her injuries related to the suspected alcohol-related hit-and-run car accident.

In cases like these, it should be weighed whether at-fault driver’s failure to stop and render aid (i.e., call 911) delayed emergency response to a degree it might have cost victim his or her life.
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Drunk driving laws have gotten tougher over the years, but some say they aren’t yet as tough as they need to be. According to a recent news feature from ABC40, two families are fighting for lawmakers in Boston to increase the penalties again.

Last year, a young couple was driving home from a wedding. The male half was allegedly three times over the legal limit of .08 percent blood-alcohol content when he crashed into a tree, killing his passenger. In another case, two years earlier, another young man was killed by a drunk driver.

Families for both victims are pressing legislators to do more to prevent such tragedies, and to hold accountable the perpetrators. Defendants in both cases are serving three-to-five-year prison sentences. Both families say that they were told by prosecutors the defendants would likely only serve a full year or two of their sentences, at most.
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Zombies may be on their second life, but at least one in New York is unlikely to get a another break from the judge.

According to recent article from ABC Eyewitness News, police in New York arrested the same woman, dressed as a zombie, twice in the same night for the same offense – drunk driving.

Authorities reported the 26-year-old driver was pulled over by police for driving without headlights on her way home from a local Halloween party. During this arrest, she is alleged to have tested at 0.11 percent blood-alcohol content (BAC) on a breath test machine.

After being processed and then released from the police station, a friend picked her up to take her home. About three hours later, she was pulled over a second time. This time she allegedly blew a .09 percent BAC, which is still over the legal limit of .08 grams of ethanol per 100 milliliters of blood.
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When we send our kids on the school bus, we expect the driver to operate the vehicle in a safe and responsible manner. That may not always be the case. According to a recent news article from the Boston Globe, a school bus driver was arrested for allegedly operating a bus under the influence. At the time, the vehicle was carrying a high school track team home from a cross-country meet on Cape Cod.

Authorities report a a coach on the bus became concerned when the vehicle was randomly speeding up and slowing down and weaving off the road and hitting the rumble strips. The driver allegedly ran red lights and took the wrong exit off the highway. The coach used his cellphone to call police.

After police pulled over the bus, the driver failed sobriety tests and refused to take a breathalyzer. The police arrested driver on charges of operating under the influence (OUI), negligent operation of a motor vehicle, child endangerment, and OUI Third Offense.
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According to a recent news article from the San Francisco Gate, a man turned in his own mother to police, connected with her alleged involvement in a drunk driving hit-and-run car crash. Police are reporting that the accident occurred around five in the afternoon.

Defendant is alleged to have sideswiped a man driving a 1939 Ford Cabriolet causing the vehicle to spin out of control. A witness called the local police and said he had been following the suspect’s vehicle and that that the driver was his mother.

Approximately an hour after the alcohol-related car crash, authorities arrived at defendant’s home and saw a car matching the suspect’s car that had sustained damage. Defendant admitted to hitting the other driver but said that she left the scene because she thought the other car kept driving as well.
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Across the United States, state and local governments seem to moving toward the decriminalization or legalization of marijuana. One concern of the police and others against legalization is that there would be a corresponding increase in the number of people driving under the influence of marijuana.

According to a recent article in the Worchester Telegram, the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association and its membership share these concerns. One major issue is that, unlike drunk driving, driving under the influence of marijuana is much more difficult to prove.

Field sobriety tests are designed to detect drunk driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) developed the three standardized tests now approved for use in DWI and DUI detection, but these tests are not effective for drivers suspected of being on drugs.
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