Articles Tagged with DUI

A man convicted of motor vehicle homicide and manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol in connection with a deadly drunk driving accident in Worcester last year is appealing his conviction, according to a recent news feature from The Boston Herald.  The reason for his appeal is that he is trying get one of the charges for which his was convicted dismissed, which may shorten his sentence. He is currently serving a 12-to-14-year sentence in a Massachusetts Correctional Institute (MCI).beer

Court documents indicate defendant was driving his car while intoxicated when he hit a 23-year-old man and then continued to drag him for a quarter of a mile. The victim died as a result of the serious injuries sustained when hit by a drunk driver and then dragged under his car. Continue reading

We often hear about the issue of whether athletes and other celebrities should be role models to young children. Some argue that they have a responsibility to set a good example with their behavior on and off the field, and others would say that it is up to parents to set that good example. Regardless of where you come down on this issue, it is clear that young children who are into sports idolize their favorite athletes. For this reason, they are often held to a high standard, and, when something like a drunk driving arrest happens, it tends to make national news.

cold-beer-glass-isolated-on-white-1209276-mAccording to a recent news feature from the New York Post, former Buffalo Bills starting quarterback, now retired, Vince Young was recently arrested for drunk driving. Police say defendant, now 32 years old, was charged with a misdemeanor of driving while intoxicated. He was allegedly driving well in excess of the posted speed limit and was weaving over the double yellow line into lanes of oncoming traffic. Police also observed defendant stopped at a red traffic signal waiting for the light to turn green so he could go. However, when the light changed to green, he did not accelerate immediately and instead waited about 10 seconds before stepping on the gas pedal. Continue reading

When we think of the damage a drunk driver can cause, we are typically thinking about what horrific things that can happen when a car hits another car or pedestrian. However, we have seen numerous cases in Boston and across the nation where a drunk driver crashed into a home or structure. This could obviously result in serious injury to those inside the home as well as any other vehicles that may have been involved in the accident.

9638_call_the_copsA recent news article from Southern Maryland News Net describes an alleged drunk driving car crash with facts somewhat different that the typical case. In this case, authorities have said the crash occurred just after midnight on a Wednesday morning. Sherriff’s Deputies were called to the scene by witnesses after defendant’s car allegedly crashed into a strip mall in Calvert County. Continue reading

In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, there is case law that establishes what is known as “dram shop” case. A dram is a word which once commonly used to describe a measurement of whiskey that we would equate with the word “shot” today. In some parts of Europe, especially in and around the distilleries in Scotland, the term dram is still used. The word indicated a store, or more commonly a bar, where alcoholic beverages were sold by the drink.

barsignEvery bar owner and employee who is serving alcohol to the public has a responsibility, and legal requirement, to not serve any patron who is already intoxicated. They are also not supposed to serve someone to the point of intoxication that they know or should know will be driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Continue reading

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and law enforcement agencies across the country have been trying for decades to find a way to reach potential drunk drivers and keep them from getting behind the wheel. While one might think that risk of getting a serious drunk driving car accident that could result in severe personal injury or death would be enough to deter someone, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

mJiW8uWThis is evident from the many commercials and campaigns we see. These anti-drunk driving campaigns are being generated based upon studies and the use of focus groups to determine what has the best chance of reaching potential drunk drivers. Based upon this extensive research, it seems that most people are more afraid of being arrested and having to pay for a criminal defense lawyer and also for court costs and fines. This is evident in the commercials with slogans such as “you just blew $10,000” accompanying imagery of someone blowing into a breath alcohol testing device, which people commonly refer to as a Breathalyzer. Continue reading

According to a recent news article from People, a school bus driver in California was recently arrested on suspicion of drunk driving with 28 students on her bus. Authorities alleged the 24-year-old female driver was clearly and obviously intoxicated at the time of her arrest.

school-rules-1141363-mWitnesses say the bus driver was taking children home after school on Friday afternoon when her bus managed to get stuck on a small dirt road in a manner that was blocking all traffic. When authorities arrived to see what the trouble with the bus was, they say they immediately detected a strong odor of alcohol on her breath. Continue reading

The time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s is historically the most dangerous period of the year in terms of serious drunk driving accidents and drunk driving fatalities. According to a recent news report from the Concord Patch, the town of Concord, Massachusetts has recently received a grant to increase drunk driving patrols this holiday season.

DUI checkpointSpecifically, this campaign is called “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” and the Concord Police Department will be part of an effort with 201 other law enforcement agencies trying to significantly reduce the number of drunk driving accidents this holiday season. Continue reading

According to a recent news report from ABC Boston, one man died in seven-car accident, which occurred early one Sunday morning in Stoughton. Massachusetts State Police troopers were first called to the scene of the deadly accident in response to a report that a pedestrian was hit by car.

774291_bar_1While it is still very early in their investigation, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts State Police said an older Acura was driving north on Route 24 when it crashed for a reason that is not yet know to authorities. As the car crashed, an occupant of the Acura was thrown clear of the vehicle and then was hit or run over by six cars in a row. The victim was 21 years of age at the time of this fatal traffic crash, and he was from Brockton, just south of Boston. Continue reading

According to a recent news story from the Worcester Telegram, a woman who allegedly has eight previous convictions on her criminal record was just arrested for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs (OUI).

1316049_untitledAuthorities say the 58-year-old woman called them asking that they remove a man from her apartment. This occurred just after 10 a.m. on a Sunday morning. Worcester Police officers arrived at her home and alleged they saw the man in question standing outside of her home, while the woman who called them drove away from the home with her dog in the car. The police reportedly stated this man told officers he believed the woman was drunk driving. Continue reading

Drunk driving is a very serious problem in Boston as well as the rest of the country. While drunk driving accidents results in thousands of deaths and other cases of serious each year, the real fear in potential drunk drivers seems to be of getting arrested rather than being in an deadly crash, at least according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

571004_in_reminder_of_____The reason we assume this, even if these organizations have not directly come out and said it, is because whenever we see an anti-drunk driving advertisement, billboard, or listen to one of the commercials on the radio, they generally seem to focus on the cost and inconvenience of being arrested for drunk driving. For example, we see slogans like drive drunk hammered, get nailed, or sober or slammer, or one add showing a guy blowing into a roadside breath testing instrument with a caption that says “you just blew $10,000, which obviously alludes to the cost of hiring and attorney, court costs and fines, the cost of increased insurance, and other financials costs of being arrested for drink driving.   While there are some, we very rarely see any anti-drunk driving commercials that focus on the serious physical injury and deaths often caused by drunk driving car accidents. Continue reading

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