Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol

August 29, 2016

Tennessee’s New DUI Law Could Be Costly To State’s Coffers

If a driver is under age 21 in California, state law (Vehicle Code 23140) makes it easier for prosecutors to convict them of DUI in Los Angeles. Instead of the typical blood alcohol content measurement of 0.08 required for a DUI conviction, California’s DUI law lowers that standard to 0.01 for someone under age 21. This law complies with federal requirements, which set the BAC standard for underage drivers to 0.02.

Tennessee used to comply with those standards as well. But a new law—actually intended to make the state’s drunk driving penalties tougher—raised the BAC standard to 0.08 for all drivers in the state. Lawmakers thought they were simply making the law consistent for all adults over age 18, but the change has threatened the state’s federal road funding.

August 8, 2016

A Natural Way to Discourage DUIs?

by Michael Kraut

Police officers, prosecutors and judges can get discouraged when they’re trying to reduce the number of DUIs in Los Angeles. Some people never seem to get the message about the dangers they pose to themselves and other people.

But Noah Elkins of Laurel County, Kentucky, had the message about the dangers of DUI driving brought home in a stinging way—literally. On Tuesday, July 26th, Elkins and a passenger, 35-year-old Priscilla Simpson, were driving around looking for a place to swim and cool off. Since they were reportedly under the influence of several drugs, including Suboxone, neurotin and Klonopin, Elkins apparently had trouble controlling the car. The vehicle crashed into an electric pole, which fell over and took out a beehive.

The swarm of bees was not happy about the disruption to their day. According to TV station WKYT, they went after Elkins and Simpson (who was wearing a bikini bathing suit at the time). A local resident, Gary Lee Anderson, saw them running up his driveway, where they grabbed the hose and tried to spray water on themselves to get the bees off of them.
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August 6, 2016

Drivers Using Pokémon Go As DUI Excuse

by Michael Kraut

Police who arrest drivers arrested for DUIs in Los Angeles sometimes observe the motorist engaging in additional risky behaviors behind the wheel: talking on a cell phone or texting, for example. Now you can add another item to the list of dangerous distractions: Pokémon Go.

A young driver in Port Orchard, Washington, was apparently drinking, driving and playing Pokémon Go on the evening of Saturday, August 6th. Witnesses called police when they observed her driving erratically while using her mobile phone.

The officers tracked the unnamed driver to a nearby waterfront park (a favorite spot for Pokémon Go players). When they questioned her, they found she was underage and under the influence, and she was driving on a suspended license. They arrested her on both charges.

July 29, 2016

DUI Driver Shuts Down BART Service

by Michael Kraut

Accidents involving drivers DUI in Los Angeles can snarl highways and city streets, resulting in backups that prevent motorists from reaching their destinations for hours. Involve a mass transit system like BART in a DUI crash, and the potential for transportation headaches gets even larger.

Opara Maurice Green crashed through a crossing gate and ended up running his 2006 Toyota truck onto BART’s tracks in West Oakland around 7:40 p.m. on Wednesday, July 20th. Green was lucky; the operator of a San Francisco-bound BART train was able to stop before hitting the truck. (Fortunately, no passengers suffered injuries in the unscheduled rapid stop.)

July 27, 2016

Golf Cart DUI Results in Death

by Michael Kraut

When the media reports on a death involving a Los Angeles DUI, the victim is usually a pedestrian or the driver or passenger in one of the vehicles that crashed. But deadly DUIs can also result from incidents involving much smaller, off-the-road vehicles.

Police in Gallatin, Tennessee, charged Lori Doyle, 55, with vehicular assault and DUI first offense after her husband fell off a golf cart and hit his head at the Foxland Harbor golf course. Although emergency responders took Doyle to the hospital, he died two days later.

The officers reported that they saw three open beer cans in the golf cart and one on the roof. Investigations are continuing, and Doyle could face additional charges.

July 13, 2016

Charges Dismissed, Accused DUI Driver Sues Prosecutors

by Michael Kraut

It’s rare for drivers to file suit when prosecutors or a judge dismiss a charge of DUI in Los Angeles. In Bozeman, Montana, however, a man once charged with felony vehicular homicide in his wife’s death is seeking his day in court.

According to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, prosecutors had accused Michael Soule of killing his wife, Jennifer Soule, in a January 2012 crash. They alleged that he had been driving his truck up to 103 miles per hour on I-90 and that his blood alcohol content was 0.231. The charges also stated that Soule had marijuana and cocaine in his system.

In 2013, before the case came to trial, Soule took a plea agreement that allowed him to avoid jail time. But Gallatin County District Court Judge Mike Salvagni refused to accept the plea, and Soule withdrew his agreement. When the case came before Judge Salvagni, he dismissed the charges, saying that Montana Highway Patrol troopers had failed to preserve evidence; they had performed a warrantless search of Michael Soule’s hospital room; and they had taken photos of his injuries without permission from his family or the hospital. He also noted that the Montana state crime lab’s official BAC test showed that Soule’s BAC measured 0.07, which is under the legal limit. While a urine screening at the hospital turned up positive for marijuana and cocaine, the state police never did a blood alcohol test to confirm those findings.

July 5, 2016

Man Loses Legs in DUI Collision

by Michael Kraut

All too often drivers arrested for DUI in Los Angeles may come away from a crash unscathed while some innocent bystander suffers life-threatening or life-changing injuries. The latest out-of-state example comes from Denver, where a 19-year old under the influence of drugs crushed the legs of a man in a DUI-related crash.

Denver Channel 7 reported that 19-year old Dylan Gottschling was driving under the influence of two drugs—heroin and Xanax—when he slammed into the back of a parked SUV on July 4th. The SUV, pushed forward, struck another vehicle; unfortunately, Craig Towler had been standing between them.

The crash pinned Towler and crushed his two legs. To save his life, physicians had to amputate both legs below the knee.

Gottschling, arrested for DUI, reckless driving and vehicular assault, admitted he had been trying to change music on his phone when he hit the SUV. But police think there was more involved; they also charged the teen with texting while driving.

June 15, 2016

DUI Drivers Injure Workers on Road Construction Sites: An Unnerving Survey

by Michael Kraut

Road construction workers have fairly terrifying jobs. They not only operate and move around heavy equipment weighing 10 tons or more (often much more); they also must work while vehicles just a few feet away hurtle past them at 50 and 60 miles per hour. Add to that mix a driver who’s operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol—enough to qualify him/her for a DUI in Los Angeles—and you’ve made a difficult situation even more dangerous.

According to New Orleans’ Times-Picayune, Earl William Maugham, Jr., caused serious injuries to four people at a construction site on US 61 in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. He first sideswiped an unoccupied Ford Truck, which he should have noticed, since it was flashing white and amber strobe lights marking the work zone. Then he slammed into a John Deere backhoe. The backhoe driver wasn’t injured, but Maugham continued on, jumping two raised center median curbs and eventually hitting four workers. Emergency workers took them to the hospital with moderate to severe injuries.
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June 10, 2016

Crazy Strange DUI Cases Making Headlines

by Michael Kraut

Celebrity arrests for DUI in Los Angeles attract a great deal of attention, but they are not the only DUI-related incidents making the news. Here’s what’s happening in other areas of the country.

• In Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a judge ordered Thomas Candler Felts, 25, to serve from 30 days to six months in jail after he pleaded guilty to providing alcohol to a group of Amish teenagers. According to Fox 43 News, Felts had pulled into a parking lot of a convenience store next to the young men, who were riding in a horse-drawn buggy. He talked to them about “Rumspringa,” which is the time when Amish adolescents have more freedom to explore the world outside the Amish culture.

The buggy left the parking lot and traveled down a road, but Felts eventually passed them yelling “Rumspringa.” He then stopped his car abruptly, causing the buggy to crash into his vehicle’s rear. Police called to the scene measured Felts’ BAC at .126.
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June 8, 2016

California Legislators Consider DUI Legislation Related to Interlock Ignition Devices (IIDs)

by Michael Kraut

The Golden State already has many laws dealing with DUI in Los Angeles and its other cities. But state legislators are often looking for ways to refine those statutes with the goal of reducing the number of DUI incidents even further.

For the past several years, Los Angeles, Alameda, Tulare and Sacramento counties have required anyone convicted of a DUI—even first time offenders—to install an ignition interlock device (IID) on their vehicles. According to a study released in December 2015 by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, interlocks prevented 1,900 DUI driving incidents per month in California.

Many legislators want to extend the IID requirement to the entire state, and they are halfway towards achieving that goal. On May 31st, the Senate unanimously passed SB 1046, which requires anyone convicted of DUI in California to install the IID. That bill now goes to the California Assembly, and MADD has promised to lobby for it extensively.