By Editor
A Sandusky, New Jersey man was arrested for DUI while he was driving to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
He registered a blood alcohol level (BAC) of 0.10 percent, above the legal limit for DUI in New Jersey.
Anthony Blake was pulled over after a police officer recognized him. This officer realized he was driving while his privileges were suspended.
Blake told the officer he was not dunk and he had his last drink at about 4:00 am. He was pulled over at 9:52 am.
By Editor
A Florida driver was charged with vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter after he struck and killed a motorcyclist.
Andrew Barnes was driving the wrong way down the street and took no action to avoid the crash. Police officers suspected he was driving under the influence, but when a blood test detected no more than marijuana in his system, the officers were stumped.
Police later found two cans of compressed air in Barnes’ car. Further blood tests showed he was high on the aerosol used to clean computer keyboards. The sprays are harmless if used properly. But, the can contain difluoroethane, a chemical that causes an instant high, or even death, if sucked into the lungs.
This new drug craze is popularly called “huffing,” or “dusting.”
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has released data showing that, in 2005, 1.1 million kids huffed household products, including furniture polish, dust remover, and air fresheners. Some of them died.
By Editor
The high court of Iowa overturned a lower court ruling that results of a DataMaster DUI breathalyzer test device were too unreliable to be used as evidence.
Courts throughout the United States have been wrestling with this issue of the reliability of DUI breathalyzer tests.
Aaron Stohr had been stopped by an Iowa state trooper. The trooper noticed a container of beer and indications that Stohr had been drinking. Stohr failed a sobriety test and was taken to the police station, where he submitted to a breath test, using a DataMaster device.
He registered a blood alcohol level (BAC) of 0.114 percent. The per-se legal limit for DUI in Iowa is 0.08 percent BAC.
Stohr challenged the result of his breath test, claiming the DataMaster’s internal programming was unreliable. The trial court agreed.
The State Supreme Court, however, ruled the DataMaster to be sufficiently reliable, noting that the device had been reviewed and approved by the public safety commissioner.
The Iowa Court said a driver can challenge the reliability of his particular breath test in court, but the result of the test will still be allowed as evidence.
By Editor
A Mount Joy, Pennsylvania motorcyclist was arrested for DUI. Kraig Anthony Lackey was observed doing 130 mph in a zone limited to 55 mph. He was charged with a DUI offense, fleeing police, speeding, reckless driving, inspection and other motor vehicle violations.
Crotch rockets and drinking don’t really mix, do they?
By Editor
An elderly driver was arrested and charged with DUI in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania while driving to his DUI hearing. If you need a drink to go to your DUI hearing, you probably need help with your drinking.
74-year old Anthony R Lilly was arrested after he struck a guardrail as he was driving to his hearing.
He refused to take a breath test. When Lilly was arrested in February, he had a blood alcohol level (BAC) of 0.259 percent, more than three times the legal limit for DUI in Pennsylvania.
Lilly told a news-reporter that he could not remember the most recent incident. He also said he’ll have to quit drinking; “they’re going to force me to stop.”
By Editor
St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa filed a demand for a trial by jury following his DUI arrest in Jupiter, Florida. La Russa was arrested in March after being discovered asleep at a traffic light.
According to his arrest report, he had a blood alcohol level of 0.093 percent. Florida’s BAC limit for DUI is 0.08 percent.
La Russa faces up to six months in jail and a $500 fine. It would be surprising if La Russa’s case actually went to trial.
By Editor
A little old lady, 73-year old Lahja Pohjoisrinne, was arrested for DUI in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario.
The woman backed out of her driveway, struck a pole on the opposite side of the street, then continued to drive, backwards, through the parking lot of a church until she struck a parked car and the front step railings of the church.
When Police officers arrived, they detected an odor of alcohol. Pohjoisrinne was taken to a local hospital. No breath test results were released.
The photograph accompanying an article on the little old lady, in the Sault Ste Marie newspaper, shows a parking space reserved for drunk drivers. The space has a tree in the middle of it.
By Editor
The Woodinville, Washington woman who set a Washington record for blood alcohol content (BAC) is a former police officer. Deana F. Jarrett, who registered a BAC of 0.47 percent, is being held in King County jail on a $250,000 bond.
The Washington State Patrol said she was arrested in her home because, after two arrests for DUI last week, she was considered too dangerous to the community.
When troopers arrived at her home, Jarrett refused to cooperate. She was only taken into custody after officers had removed a window air-conditioner and prepared to enter her home through the opening. Troopers said she was highly intoxicated at the time.
Jarrett had been working as a passenger screener and supervisor for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at the Seattle-Tacoma airport. She resigned after being released from jail last week. In recent years, Jarret has struggled with alcoholism, including having her 11-year daughter removed from her home by state officials.
Jarrett left the Seattle police department in 1998 following a contentious sexual harassment lawsuit against the department. She claimed she had been subjected to anonymous letters, cartoons in her mailbox, and a bomb threat on her truck at her home.
By Editor
A Woodinville, Washington woman registered a blood alcohol level (BAC) or 0.47 percent, almost six times the legal limit for DUI in Washington.
Deana F. Jarret set a record for Washington. A BAC of 0.40 percent is potentially lethal.
An urgent-care doctor said that for someone Jarret’s size, 5 feet, 5 inches tall and between 130 and 140 pounds, it would take about a fifth of liquor, 25 ounces, in a short period of time to reach such a high BAC.
Jarret was arrested after two different traffic collisions. Police found five empty four-ounce vodka bottles and two empty beer cans on the front passenger seat. A Redmond police spokesman said that most people pass out around 0.35 percent BAC.
Of the 356,000 breath tests given in Washington since 1998, only 35 have registered a BAC above 0.40 percent. No one had registered above 0.45, before Jarret.
By Editor
A Northbrook, Illinois man arrested for DUI hung himself in a Cook County Illinois jail.
Chong Sim was arrested Tuesday night on suspicion of DUI and taken to a jail facility where he was charged with felony DUI. He was to appear for a bond hearing this morning.
Deputies said there was no indication that Sim was suicidal but, nonetheless, followed protocol for all arrestees by removing his belt and shoelaces and placing him a cell by himself. At about 2:45 am, Sim asked for something to drink and was given a bottle of fruit juice. When deputies returned fifteen minutes later, he was found hanging by his pants. They called 911, but he could not be resuscitated.
One must wonder what else was going through the man’s mind. Losing your driver’s license isn’t worth suicide.