Drunk Driver Up For Parole

Robert Robertson was sentenced to 15 years in prison but is facing a parole hearing next month. Angie Maue opposes this hearing. Why? Because back in 2001 Robertson kill her 7 year-old son. 

Robertson's blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit when he crashed his vehicle on the sidewalk next to the San Diego Zoo where Luke Maue and 45 of his classmates were having a field trip. Luke was struck and killed. 


Angie Maue says she will be at Robertson parole hearing because he needs to know what her family's life has been like and all of the things they've missed because of Luke's death.

You can visit Luke's page at http://lukes-legacy.org/



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Drunk Driver Could Face 15 Years In Prision

Raphael Dorrough was found guilty this Tuesday for operating while intoxicated causing death and reckless driving causing death. The 24 year-old faces up to 15 years in prison. 

As evidence shows, Dorrough was doing 65mph in a 35mph zone and had substantial amounts of alcohol and drugs in his system. He struck and killed Jaryn Stevens who was only 22. 

Stevens was on his way to work when his car ran out of gas. He called a friend who came to bring him more when they saw the car coming toward them. The two men tried to jump out of the way however Stevens was pronounced dead on the scene while his friend suffered minor injuries. 

“Driving while impaired from alcohol or drugs can be a deadly formula as this case clearly demonstrates,” said prosecutor David Leyton.

Dorrough goes back to court for sentencing on March 25th. Though if you ask me, 15 years isn't nearly enough. 


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Drunk Driving Laws - Harsh Enough?

North Carolina has pretty lax rules when it comes to repeat drunk drivers. The odds that someone who does not habitually drink and drive will get caught the one time they accidentally had too much is pretty slim, even more slim that they get caught twice. Drivers with a BAC above the legal limit who get caught twice or more most likely have serious drinking problems.

Under current law, a driver must be convicted of four DWIs within a 10-year period before the state’s sternest penalties kick in. Then, if the defendant spends enough time in prison, he or she can return to society with all the purity before the law of someone with no convictions.

Drunk driver Travis Fain has had numerous drunk driving charges and been jailed twice, yet he is not considered a habitual offender. He even killed a couple and their baby in the 1980's due to drunk driving.. But with all of the charges, he has not been convicted 4 times in ten years.. and quite a few of those years were spent in jail!

House Bill 31 is being looked at which would change the law to say that once someone is convicted as a habitual offender, he or she will always be a habitual offender when sentenced for new drunken driving convictions. Drivers convicted on the basis of numerous offenses would not get clean slates ever again.

There should be harsher laws against drunk drivers in all states. How can a man who's murdered a family not be considered a habitual drunk driver and a danger to society?


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Drunk Driver Kills Three From Same Family

Anthony Lewis Sanchez, 40, from Buena Park California  was drunk driving Saturday when he struck several people. Carmen Mendoza, 56, her daughter, Sheyla Mendoza and her niece Stephanie Henriquez, both 21, were heading back from a baby shower when they were struck with Sanchez's vehicle.

Sanchez and his passenger were treated for minor facial injuries after the crash.

Witnesses said the trio had "no chance of survival" as Sanchez's vehicle went "straight into them" on South Western Ave. in Anaheim.


Sheyla Mendoza was pronounced dead at the scene, while Carmen Mendoza and Henriquez died later at UC Irvine Medical Center.

"The defendant is accused of crashing into these three victims, and he didn't stop. He barely hit his brakes, and he barely slowed down at all," stated Farrah Emami, Orange County District Attorney spokesman.




Police revealed that Sanchez, who is registered as a truck driver, was charged in 2006 with possession of methamphetamine. The charge was dismissed after he completed a drug-treatment program. He was also busted in 1997 for possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell.

Evelyn Morales, whose baby shower the women were at before the tragedy, said "We're trying to work with it. It's tough, especially with three losses." The whole family was devastated by the news. 

Sanchez is being charged with three felony counts of vehicular manslaughter in addition to two other felony counts related to driving while intoxicated. If convicted, he faces up to 12 years in prison. 



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MADD Michigan Fights Legal Limit Should Stay At .08

Back in 2003, Michigan lawmakers lowered the drunk driving threshold from .10 to .08, however they put a "sunset" on the legislation meaning lawmakers would have a chance to review it to determine if it should be kept in place after a given period of time.

MADD - Mother's Against Drunk Driving - is pleading with lawmakers to keep the legal limit at .08 saying that the lower threshold has been effective. Supporters of the lower .08 threshold say it is one of the factors contributing to a substantial decline in drunken driving deaths and crashes in Michigan. Representatives of the Michigan State Police said alcohol-related crashes have declined more than 30 percent and fatalities have dropped more than 20 percent since 2004.

“As a result [of the lower threshold], lives have been saved,” said Sherry McGee of Michigan’s MADD chapter.

Supporters say there’s another reason to keep the lower threshold in place. Allowing the threshold to rise would violate federal drunken driving standards and could cause Michigan to lose millions of dollars in federal funding each year for highway projects.

Studies clearly indicate judgment and reaction time is damaged at .08 levels, so why make it higher? The committee has not yet voted, but is expected to do so next week.



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Man In Lowell Facing Child Endangerment Charges

Luis Guzman, 48, is a resident of Lowell. He was caught by police driving drunk with two children in the back seat. During his drive he also almost hit a pedestrian in a crosswalk. Guzman failed several field sobriety tests, and blew a .32 on the breathalyzer.. four times the legal limit!

Guzman is already facing charges of operating under the influence of alcohol, possessing an open container of alcohol and motor-vehicle charges in connection with same incident. In the first set of charges, Guzman was released on $1,000 cash bail.

Lowell police allege that on Sept. 14, officers had just passed a vehicle on Cardinal O'Connell Way when they noticed a brown Toyota Corolla almost strike a pedestrian who was in the middle of crossing Market Street.

After stopping the car, officers noticed an open container of Natural Ice beer on the floor behind the passenger seat and also noticed two children, both 11, in the back seat along with a 47-year-old female in the front seat.

It took an officer three taps on the driver's side window to get Guzman to roll it down. When he did, the officer noticed a strong odor of alcohol. The officer noted Guzman's eyes were glassy and blood shot.

When asked if he had been drinking, Guzman told police he didn't speak English.



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Catching A Drunk Driver? There's An App For That

Frank Vahid was determined to find a way to help police catch drunk drivers. Especially after seeing a drunk driver slam into a car in the next lane from him and take off. He was disappointed he was unable to help the officers catch the driver because it had happened so fast he couldn't get a plate number. That's when he decided to use his expertise in computer software to create an app.

Frank Vahid, a computer science professor, created the DuiCam app along with
 Daniel de Haas, left, and Timothy Cherney, right.

The new app called DUIcam was released for Droid phones in December, and an iPhone version was released last month. The app runs continuously while you're in the car(so keep it charging!) and records video. You can get a stand and have your phone on your dashboard so it is recording everything happening in front of your car. This make it easy for you to capture drunk drivers as well as take stills from the video. But don't worry, the app automatically deletes footage every 30 minutes or so, that way it isn't taking up too much room on your phone. Another great feature is that it allows you to send the video/snap shots to the local police department.

“The police need very accurate information, No. 1, in order to be able to legally stop a vehicle,” Vahid said. ”Then prosecuting becomes much more straight-forward, because you have the video."

Check out the website for more information on the app - www.duicam.org



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Drunk Driver Gets 20 Years For Manslaughter

Warren Tyler was convicted of manslaughter Tuesday after killing a passenger in his van - his stolen van. Tyler, 47, crashed the van just after midnight January 7th in Boston killing his passenger, Johnny Williams Jr., on impact.

Tyler's BAC was .14, almost twice the legal limit of .08. He allegedly told responding Boston police officers, “Dude, I’m drunk.’’ Police also found vodka bottles among Tyler's possessions. 

“Nothing in this world right now could make me feel any better than him being here,” Williams’s younger brother Jerome told the court. “He was a strong guy. We always ran to him for help. He was always there for us.”

Tyler has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. 




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Man Drives Drunk Through Walmart

A Florida man was arrested for drunk driving inside a Walmart. No, he didn't crash through the building in his car, he was actually driving a motorized scooter around the superstore drunk.

Timothy Carr was on his scooter when he wheeled himself over to the beer and decided to grab some and drink it in the store. As he told police, Carr didn't have enough money to pay for the beer, and so decided to drink it around the store. 

Carr was riding around the store drunk, knocking over displays and making a mess with his shopping car.

This is Carrs third offense of retail theft. He was charged with disorderly intoxication and felony retail theft.



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Drunk Driver Passes Out With Children In Back Seat

Veronica Cruz, a 31-year old mother of two, was found drunk and passed out at the wheel of her van - her children sleeping in the back seat.

The van was idling in a driveway when it caught the attention of police. The officer approached the van and tried to wake Cruz who was confused and disoriented - she failed several field sobriety tests and as police offers said, reeked of alcohol.

Cruz was charged with driving under the influence and two counts of risk of injury to a minor and is due to appear in court on February 14th.



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