Articles Posted in Drunk Driving in Massachusetts

According to a recent news report from the Times Herald-Record, a man has pleaded guilty to a drunk driving accident that killed his friend 17 years after the accident occurred. He pleaded guilty to drunk driving, second-degree manslaughter, and charges related to violation of the bail statute by not coming back to court when he was out on bail during the pendency of his court case.

prisonProsecutors have said the defendant, who was in his late 20s at the time of the accident, lost control of the 1988 station wagon his was driving and crashed.  His friend, who was a 24-year-old passenger in the car, died as a result of his injuries sustained in the crash. During the court case in 2000, the defendant attempted to plead guilty. Continue reading

Drinking a bar is perfectly legal, so long as the person is 21 or older. However, it violates the law to drink to the point of intoxication and then get behind the wheel of a vehicle. Not only is it illegal, it could result in a serious or even fatal drunk driving accident.

beersWhile the police and lawmakers have been trying to curb drunk drivers, state officials are now turning their focus to bars, as more than 50 percent of all drunk driving arrests and accidents, start with a person being served alcohol at a bar, according to a recent news article from 22 WWLP News. Continue reading

A police officer from the North Anderson, Massachusetts Police Department was arrested following an alleged drunk driving crash, according to a recent news article from NECN.  The alleged drunk driving car accident occurred in Pennsylvania back in September, though word only recently made it the city where he works.

policeThe facts contained in the report of the incident are somewhat muddled, though we do know the officer was arrested and is accused of DUI. He was reportedly accompanied at the time by another detective with the same agency. Both officers were subsequently placed on administrative leave in October, but only one had been arrested.

The incident reportedly occurred in the middle of Pennsylvania near Penn State University, and the officers involved were allegedly in their department’s 2008 Dodge Charger Police cruiser. The driving officer is accused of crashing his police cruiser into a flatbed tow truck and then fled the scene on foot. Continue reading

According to a recent news story from WFMZ-TV News, a Pennsylvania man has been ordered by the judge to complete 25 hours of community service.  This will consist of traveling to different colleges in the area and speaking about his drunk driving car accident, arrest and sentencing.  The community service was not the only condition of his sentence.

prisonProsecutors have said the car accident, which occurred back in 2015, involved a head on collision where the victim was trapped in a burning car for more than an hour until firefighters could arrive at the scene and suppress the blaze enough to free him from the vehicle in which he was trapped. Amazingly, the victim survived. As for the 22-year-old defendant, first responders found him lying on the ground next to his own vehicle.  Continue reading

In what appears to be an attempt to curb driving while giving a nod to the cult classic “Super Troopers,” one police force in Canada warned potential drunk drivers that if they drive drunk during the holiday season, the will get caught, pay fines, lose their license, and, as an added bonus/punishment, they will be forced to listen to their copy of a “Nickelback’s Silver Side Up” cassette tape, of which a photo was featured in their warning, according to a recent news release from UPI.  We can only assume they still have cassette players in their police cruisers.

drivingWhile this announcement clearly was made at least partially in jest, the police were very serious about their warnings to potential drunk drivers, and this was just a novel way to get their attention. The reality is that many people drink more than they normally do over the holidays.  This is due to office parties, family gatherings, and added stress in general during this time of year.  With more people drinking, there will be more people who get behind the wheel while drunk.  Continue reading

There are many people who drive drunk on a regular basis.  Some of these people will be in a drunk driving accident at some future point in their lives, and some already have been in one.  Some may be lucky enough to avoid an accident. However, when a person drives drunk, it is hard to appreciate the seriousness of their actions, because that person is viewing everything while being intoxicated.  This not only has physical effects, but also makes people more likely to engage in dangerous behavior like drunk driving.

driving3However, if a person could experience what they are doing when they are driving drunk while sober and be able to appreciate everything, it might make people think twice before getting behind the wheel of a motor vehicle after having a few too many drinks. Continue reading

We have all heard about a wedding or been to a wedding when one of the guests got drunk and acted in an inappropriate manner. However, when someone drinks too much and decides to get behind the wheel of a car, things can get much worse.  In some case, one doesn’t even need to get behind the wheel of a car to drive drunk.

wedding ringsAccording to a recent news article from Fox 25 News Boston, a man has just been arrested for allegedly getting drunk and crashing a golf cart.  Witnesses say, the best man at this wedding was open about the fact he does not like the bride.  He allegedly left the wedding and then stole a golf cart.  He then crashed the golf cart at the wedding venue and was walking around covered in blood.  This was a six-person golf cart that belonged to the resort at which the wedding was being hosted.  The cart was left on the 11th tee of one of the golf courses after it sustained heavy damage in the crash. Continue reading

Massachusetts has had a long-standing problem with heroin use and abuse of prescription opiates, and now there is a growing problem with people abusing prescription depressants such as Xanax, Klonopin, Valium, and other benzodiazepines.  Not only are many people abusing these powerful drugs, they are also getting behind the wheel of a car after doing so, and that is an even greater problem, because they are putting others at risk.

drugs-defect-pills-300x226With marijuana now being legal in Massachusetts, many police, law enforcement agencies, and personnel now believe that we will continue to see an increase in the amount of people driving under the influence of cannabis and a corresponding increase in the number of drugged driving accidents.  In response to this, more police officers in Massachusetts have decided to get trained as Drug Recognition Experts (DREs), according to a recent news article from NBC Boston. Continue reading

In Salem, Massachusetts, jurors are trying to decide the fate of a Massachusetts State Police (MSP) trooper who has been charged and tried for crashing his motor vehicle while drunk resulting in the death of his passenger.  He was driving a vintage Chevrolet Corvette according to the Eagle Tribune.

gavel6The jury has so far been unable to reach a verdict and the deliberations will continue following the weekend recess. As for the alleged facts of this case, defendant, who had been with MSP for 14 years, was driving his 1965 Corvette when he crashed.  The passenger in his vehicle was a 55-year-old firefighter who was killed in the deadly drunk driving crash that has been alleged. Continue reading

Aside from everything else that happened in the November 8, 2016 election, voters in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have just voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use in the state, joining a handful of other states and the District of Columbia.  Clearly many people are excited about this, and there are also those who voted against it.

marijuanaRegardless of our feelings about marijuana, based upon what we have seen in other states, there is a decent chance that more people will be using marijuana than there were prior to legalization.  While this can provide a great deal of revenue for the Commonwealth, there is also a decent chance that people will be driving under the influence of marijuana. Continue reading

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