Drunk Driving DUI Law

LAS VEGAS—A dismissed Nevada state trooper has been indicted on charges he was under the influence of marijuana when he caused a three-vehicle crash that left one person dead and two others hurt.

A judge on Wednesday set arraignment Sept. 11 for Edward Lattin on a felony charge of driving under the influence of a controlled or prohibited substance resulting in death.

Lattin’s lawyer, John Watkins, declines comment.

The 46-year-old Lattin was a 20-year NHP veteran and a sergeant in charge of a unit that investigated fatal crashes when he resigned in July.

He faces a mandatory two to 20 years in prison if convicted. He remains free on $50,000 bail.
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Remember to call a limousine when your drinking!

The Prospect Resident Trooper’s Office will conduct a DUI enforcement spot check on Route 69 at Kluge Road on Thursday.

The spot check will start at 5 p.m. and run until early morning Friday. All vehicles will be stopped briefly and examined for intoxication and compliance with state laws.

This effort is part of the state’s High Visibility Enforcement Campaign.

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The entire length of Route 21 through Lake County will see a crackdown against drunken drivers, including use of a new legal weapon, during the Labor Day weekend.

Lake County State’s Attorney Michael Waller said “Operation Safe Run” will use saturation patrols, roadside safety checks and a new “no refusal” DUI enforcement. Police from a variety of state, county and local departments will participate.

“Labor Day weekend is traditionally one of the deadliest weekends of the year on Illinois highways,” Waller said. “We are mounting a concentrated effort to reduce the tragedy wrought by drunken driving.”

The weekend will feature Lake County’s first test of “no refusal” enforcement, in which drivers suspected of driving drunk will not be allowed to simply refuse a blood-alcohol test. Statistics show up to 40 percent of drivers suspected of DUI refuse a breath test.

Waller said assistant state’s attorneys will stand by from 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and will be notified when a driver refuses a breath test.

Those lawyers will confer with arresting officers, Waller said, and once probable cause has been established will draw up a search warrant for a blood sample from the suspect. The warrants will be taken to a judge, and if approved, will be used to order the suspect to give a blood sample, Waller said.

The process is constitutional because the law gives a motorist the right to refuse a breath test, Waller said, but it also allows for use of search warrants to collect evidence of criminal activity.

The method was used once before in the metropolitan area, in Kane County during Memorial Day weekend.

A spokesman for the Kane County state’s attorney’s office said there were 14 arrests for DUI that weekend, and six drivers immediately agreed to a breath test.

Of the eight who did not, four changed their minds when informed that prosecutors would seek a search warrant, and four warrants were actually issued. One person refused to submit to a blood test after a warrant was issued, the spokesman said, and that person faces a contempt of court proceeding for disobeying a lawful order.
“As law enforcement leaders, we continue to explore new and innovative ways to maximize our efforts by coordinating multiple agency resources to address this serious problem,” said Buffalo Grove police Chief Steve Balinski, an organizer of the Route 21 operation.

There will also be a roadside safety check for northbound traffic on Route 21 at Knights Bridge Parkway in Lincolnshire from 10 p.m. Friday to 3 a.m. Saturday. A second check will be done for southbound traffic on Route 21 at Route 60 in Vernon Hills during the same hours on Saturday night and Sunday morning.
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DOVER, Del.- State highway safety officials have scheduled three sobriety checkpoints and 214 DUI saturation patrols in Delaware beginning Friday, Aug. 29 and running through Labor Day, Sept. 1.

The state Office of Highway Safety said the enforcement activities will supplement what is expected to be an already heightened police presence from state and municipal police agencies for the holiday weekend.  After a deadly couple of weeks on Delaware roadways, particularly for pedestrians and motorcyclists, OHS officials say they hope the additional patrols will prevent further needless loss of life.

“The rash of fatal traffic crashes which has occurred over the last two weeks is nothing short of tragic,” said Tricia Roberts, OHS director.  “Unfortunately crashes are often preventable, so we are asking motorists to slow down, not to drive or ride impaired, and to always buckle up.  We also ask pedestrians to follow basic safety rules when crossing Delaware roads. We will have police on the lookout to arrest anyone who chooses to ignore or violate state laws and put themselves or others in danger.”

The following sobriety checkpoints are scheduled for the Labor Day weekend:

Friday, Aug. 29

• Wilmington (New Castle County DUI Task Force)

• Delaware beach area (Delaware State Police Troop 7)

Saturday, Aug. 30

• Dover area  (Delaware State Police Troop 3)

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Remember don’t drink and drive! Call a limo if you have to!

A 40-year-old Oxford woman is being held without bail after being charged last week with driving while under the influence of alcohol for the fourth time.

Cindy L. Dronzek, 119 Federal Hill Road, pleaded not guilty in Dudley District Court on Friday.

Ms. Dronzek was charged with drunken driving, fourth offense; driving with a revoked license; reckless driving; speeding; possessing an open container of alcohol in her vehicle; and a civil infraction of not wearing a seat belt.

According to a police report, Officer Marek Karlowicz was standing beside his cruiser monitoring traffic on Oxford Avenue about 5 p.m. Thursday. He saw Ms. Dronzek speeding in a Jeep Liberty headed north. The officer’s radar clocked her at 59 mph.

The officer said she did not slow down when he stepped into the roadway to flag her.

“The vehicle was going to strike me if I didn’t move out off the roadway,” he wrote.

He pulled her over at Oxford Avenue and Pine Street.

Ms. Dronzek allegedly failed sobriety tests and refused to take a Breathalyzer.

Judge Neil G. Snider held a hearing at Assistant District Attorney Krista Farese’s request on whether Ms. Dronzek is a danger to the community.

A prosecutor cited Ms. Dronzek’s criminal record, dependency on alcohol, being out on bail for a prior charge, and her record of convictions.

Judge Snider ordered Ms. Dronzek held for up to 90 days, pending a trial “as soon as reasonably possible.”

A pretrial hearing was set for Sept. 18.

Earlier this year Ms. Dronzek served 21 days in jail for shoplifting.

On March 26 she pushed a cart filled with groceries valued at $205.90 out of Price Chopper in Webster without paying.

She was found guilty April 24.
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Remember to read our post on 10 way to avoid a DUI. Clearly Ms. Dronzek did not.

Ten people were arrested on suspicion of drunken driving at two DUI checkpoints in Visalia Friday and Saturday nights.

On the first night, seven people were arrested on suspicion of drunken driving. On the second night, there were three arrests.

Fifteen field sobriety tests were administered on Friday night, 19 vehicles were towed and 17 tickets were issued to unlicensed drivers or those driving on a suspended license.

On Saturday, the Visalia Police Department administered six field sobriety tests, towed 24 vehicles and cited 25 drivers for being without a license or driving on a suspended license.

Federal highway grant funded checkpoint

The checkpoint was funded through a grant from the National Highway Safety Administration.

More than a dozen citations were issued for other offenses.

The program is designed to reduce the number of people killed or injured in drunken-driving accidents as well as to educate the public on the dangers of impaired driving.
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During Saturday evening’s DUI checkpoint conducted by the Palm Springs Police Department on the 4700 block of East Palm Canyon, 869 vehicles were screened.

Police arrested two drivers on suspicion of DUI and eight citations were issued for unlicensed drivers, according to a news release from the Palm Springs police department.

Nine vehicles were also towed throughout the night, officials said.

Funding for the checkpoint was provided by the city of Palm Springs and the California office of traffic safety.
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A teen was rushed to the hospital following a DUI accident in Russell County.

The accident happened late August 22.

State police say 25-year-old Kenneth Bartrug was trying to back a boat trailer into the water at the Lily Creek boat ramp in Jamestown when it jackknifed, hitting 17-year old Amber Reese.

Reese was taken to a local hospital with an arm injury.

Police say another car was hit by the boat trailer.

Bartrug was arrested at the scene and charged with DUI.

He was lodged in the Russell County Jail, but has been released.

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A 51-year-old nurse has been charged with vehicular manslaughter for a Feb. 2 crash that killed a homeless man.

Anne Munoz, of Delray Beach, was arrested Thursday and is in the county jail in lieu of a $25,000 bond. Her blood-alcohol level was .072, within the legal limit to drive, but she was also under the influence of oxycodone and other drugs when the crash occurred, police said.

“He was just a homeless guy,” she told police after the February crash.

Munoz has a long history of traffic infractions, including speeding and careless driving in recent years, state records show. Her license was revoked for 90 days for a driving under the influence charge in 1979.

Munoz struck and killed Brian Wobschall, 47, with her 2008 Mercedes-Benz in the 4100 block of West Atlantic Avenue, police said.

Wobschall either fell or lay down on the westbound side of the road and Munoz, the owner of a home health-care business, hit him around 9:40 p.m., police said.

Other cars had missed Wobschall, police said.
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Kansas City police arrested 37 people for drunken driving during a sobriety checkpoint late Friday and early this morning.

Police stopped 1,447 vehicles at U.S. 169 and Lou Holland Drive between 9 p.m. Friday and 4 a.m. this morning. In addition to the drunken-driving arrests, authorities also made several other arrests, including 13 outstanding warrants, one possession of marijuana, one endangering the welfare of a child, one minor in possession, one hazardous moving violation and one other traffic charge.

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