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Two women died this morning in a vehicle crash in La Verne and the man who was believed to be their driver was in custody on suspicion of murder, felony driving under the influence, and hit-and-run, police said.

The crash was reported at 12:44 a.m. at Foothill Boulevard and Wheeler Avenue, where police found a smashed-up 2000 Pontiac, La Verne police said. It’s unclear exactly what time the accident occurred.

One woman was pronounced dead at the scene. A second female passenger was taken to a hospital where she later died. Their names were withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The suspected drunken driver of the Pontiac, Alan McConnell, 27, was arrested at the scene on murder, felony DUI and hit-and-run charges, police said.

According to police, witnesses said McConnell was driving the Pontiac when it crashed into another vehicle at Foothill and Damien Avenue. McConnell then allegedly drove away from the scene, heading eastbound on Foothill Avenue where he crossed the center divider and crashed into a tree just west of Wheeler Avenue.

There were no other significant injuries in the hit-and-run crash, police said.

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The driver accused of causing a fatal accident on the Seward Highway last week is being charged with murder, assault and driving under the influence.

Lori Phillips, 55, admits she was driving the SUV police say hit another car head-on, killing one and injuring another.

Phillips was arrested Saturday for violating the terms of her release from a DUI this past March.

Those terms included no driving and no drinking.

In court Tuesday, Phillips admitted that she drove even though she wasn’t supposed to.

“When I drove Thursday… my daughter has continually drove me and was not able to do so then. I had an appointment, and I shouldn’t have gone, but I did,” Phillips said.

Phillips has been arrested four times for drunk driving and is now facing a fifth DUI charge.

Municipal prosecution called Phillips a huge public safety risk and the judge agreed.

He set bail at $20,000 cash and ordered Phillips to have a third-party custodian, electronic ankle monitoring and to submit to random breath tests.

“So they can ask to her periodically blow into a machine and it will read that at central headquarters for the ankle monitoring,” said Al Patterson, the municipal prosecutor.

Phillips faces charges of second-degree murder, first-degree assault, DUI, driving with a revoked license and reckless driving.

She’ll be back in court for arraignment on these new charges Wednesday afternoon.

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A 20 year old Rockland County, NY man is facing New York DWI manslaughter charges for killing his 21 year old passenger yesterday.

It happened in New York State Thruway in Clarkstown early Sunday morning.

Police say he veered his Mustang off the road and rolled down an embankment. His passenger was thrown from the car and killed when the car rolled on top of him.

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Have you been charged with a Clarkstown, NY DWI?

New york DWI’s are a serious matter as you should know. If convicted penalties range from stiff fines to jail time. If you are looking to avoid these NY DWI penalties waste no time contacting a New York DWI lawyer for a free consultation to discuss your case.

New York Traffic Lawyer

The California Highway Patrol says an impatient, drunken driver is responsible for killing a mother of eight as she crossed a Bakersfield street.Investigators say one driver stopped for 54-year-old Maria Rodriguez. But 25-year-old Luis Munoz Jr. swerved around the first car and struck the woman, then fled in his vehicle. Bakersfield police stopped him a short distance away after the crash late Thursday.

Munoz is jailed on $130,000 bond on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter while driving drunk, felony drunken driving and hit and run.

Rodriguez raised her eight children in Jalisco, Mexico, before moving the family to Bakersfield. Family members say one of her proudest moments was becoming a U.S. citizen in 2004.

California DUI Crashes

Did you know that there are over 1500 California alcohol related fatalities every year? If you are a drinker, we beg you not to drive while drinking in California. However, If you have been accused of a California DUI you should look to contact a California DUI lawyer right away. Lawyers specializing in California DUI law can protect your rights and help you avoid a California DUI conviction that could follow you the rest of your life.

California DUI Lawyers

Finding the right California DUI lawyer is essential in your DUI defense. California DUI lawyer Manuel J. Barba meets with each client in person and personally represents each client in court and at the DMV. DUI Attorney Manuel J. Barba has offices in the Inland Empire and the Palm Springs area to conveniently serve the needs of his clients. Contact California DUI lawyer Manuel J. Barba for a free consultation.

For the third year in a row, DUI deaths declined in California. The drop was 9.1 percent, from 1,132 in 2007 to 1,029 in 2008, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System. The 2008 figure marks a total decrease of nearly 21 percent from the most recent high point in 2005.

“With this third year of declines in DUI deaths, we can truly call it a trend, a trend of life saving importance,” said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). “Law enforcement, state and local agencies, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and other safety advocates, and the people of California have come together to address this deadly problem and are now seeing the results. As positive as these figures are, though, we can never let up until we achieve our goal of zero deaths.”

“This significant decline in traffic deaths is indeed heartening,” said California Highway Patrol Commissioner Joe Farrow. “The decrease in lives pointlessly lost can be traced back to hard, innovative work in education, enforcement, engineering and emergency medical services. Our primary objective remains to continue this trend and have more people make it home safe and alive each day.”

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A northern Illinois mother has been sentenced to 45 days in jail and 4 years of probation for a fatal DUI crash that killed her infant daughter and injured three other children.

She sobbed as the sentence was handed down in LaSalle County court Friday.

She’s scheduled to begin her jail sentence next week. She’ll also have to pay a fine to the Sandwich Fire Department.

Prosecutors say she was drunk when the van she was driving hit a snow plow near Sandwich last January.

She’s had 16 surgeries since the crash to repair two crushed ankles, two broken kneecaps, a broken leg, and a dislocated hip.

When accused of DUI in Northern Illinois DUI contacting a Illinois DUI Lawyer is of essence.

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An off-duty Chicago police officer charged with crashing into and killing a 13-year-old boy on a bike wasn’t administered a Breathalyzer for four hours after the crash and didn’t have blood drawn to test for his sobriety for another eight hours because he initially refused to cooperate, police said Tuesday. Four hours after the crash, Officer Richard Bolling registered on a Breathalyzer at 0.079, just under the legal limit of 0.08, prosecutors said.

Bolling, 39, appeared in Cook County court Tuesday, four days after he was charged with aggravated Illinois DUI, reckless homicide and leaving the scene of a crash early Friday that killed Trenton Booker. He is being held in lieu of $2 million bail.

Friday’s death marked the second time in just over a month that an off-duty Chicago police officer has been arrested in a fatal crash allegedly involving alcohol. Joseph Frugoli was charged in April with reckless homicide and Chicago DUI after a fiery crash killed two men.

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Driver in Oakland arrested for DUI; two dead, two children injured

The Alameda County coroner’s bureau has identified two victims of a fatal crash on Interstate Highway 880 in Oakland early this morning.

Sara Marie Terra, 23, of Richmond, and David James Terra, 20, of Modesto, were killed in the solo-vehicle crash around 1:30 a.m. on northbound Highway 880 just south of Hegenberger Road, according to authorities.

The crash also left two children with major California injuries. They were taken to Children’s Hospital in Oakland, California Highway Patrol Officer Ralph Caggiano said.

A person has been taken into custody for driving under the influence, and other charges will likely be sought, CHP Officer Aaron Quistad said.

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The woman the South Carolina highway Patrol charged with felony driving under the influence with death Saturday, posted bond Sunday.

Troopers charged Donna Marie Sheedy, 60, of Myrtle Beach after a motorcyclist died in a crash near the Highway 544 and Dick Pond Road intersection just after 10 p.m. Friday.

The Highway Patrol said Sheedy’s car crossed the center line and hit two motorcycles and a truck, killing a biker.

Horry County coroner Robert Edge identified the biker as Kenneth J. Temple of Centereach, New York.

A county magistrate set Sheedy’s bond Sunday at $100,000 and ordered her held on GPS monitoring while she awaits trial on the charge.

Sheedy remains jailed while jail officials wait on a GPS monitoring device to arrive.
New York Traffic Attorneys

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A teenager who pleaded guilty to hitting and killing a Clarke County woman as she walked along a road with her 3-year-old son has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

At Thursday’s sentencing, prosecutors said Abel Gonzalez-Perez will be held in a youth detention facility until he turns 17 in September, then will be transferred to adult prison.

Prosecutors said the teen is a native of Mexico who was working illegally in the U.S. He earlier pleaded guilty to first-degree vehicular homicide, DUI and hit-and-run.

Nayasheika “Keisha” Cooper, who was 19, died after being hit from behind in the June 14, 2008, accident.

Judge Steve Jones also ordered Gonzalez-Perez to serve seven years of probation after he is released from prison.

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