National DUI Report for the week of Sept. 5, 2009
I try often to point out that there is a rhythm to trauma injury and death. That rhythm is before us every day whether we choose to observe or not. This weekly post is to be a reminder of that rhythm, and that it needs to end. Especially where it comes to the most criminal aspect of that rhythm of trauma injury and death on our highways; drunk driving. It is our commitment to have a constant reminder the toll DUI takes on this nation and the world. Our hand picked articles show our commitment to keeping this toll ever in the face of our nation and the world.
Lori Petty To Get Five Years’ Probation in DUI Case
Lori Petty, best known for her roles in Tank Girl and A League of Their Own, will plead no contest Friday to a misdemeanor DUI charge and serve five years’ probation, according to a source close to the case. Petty, 45, was arrested last May after hitting a 14-year-old skateboarder while driving in Venice, Calif. The boy’s injuries were minor. The actress will pay fines, receive outpatient treatment and attend AA meetings. A second DUI charge was dismissed as part of her plea deal.
Man sentenced to two more years in prison for drunken driving
A Redding man who was sentenced in 2006 to two years in prison for vehicular manslaughter was sentenced Wednesday to another two years in prison for drunken driving. “He seems not to have learned his lesson from the previous case,” Shasta County Deputy District Attorney Mike Hemker told retired Judge Richard McEachen before the sentence was imposed. “He is a very dangerous person.” Brandon Amel Knight, 32, must serve at least 50 percent of his two-year sentence before being eligible for parole. Knight, who was arrested on suspicion of DUI in March and had a blood-alcohol level of .13 percent, pleaded no contest to the felony in July and faced a maximum three-year sentence. McEachen chose, however, the middle ground. Still, McEachen made it clear that he would not even consider the idea of granting probation to Knight because of his past vehicular manslaughter conviction. “I don’t want to be responsible for putting you on probation and you then killing someone else,” he said. Knight was sentenced in April 2006 to two years in prison for a 2004 head-on crash that killed 39-year-old James Raymond Barker of Redding.
MADD Wants Special Legislative Session For DWI Reform
ALBANY [NY] — Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has called on the New York State Legislature to hold a special session to address DWI reform. “The horrific Taconic Parkway crash has drawn national attention to DWI tragedies in our country”, says Laura Dean-Mooney, national president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, in a letter to Gov. avid Paterson and other top state lawmakers. “Such a crash highlights the need for New York to act quickly to improve its child endangerment and DWI laws.” In 2007 in New York, 198 child passengers under the age of 14 were killed or injured in alcohol-related crashes. While 35 other states have special child endangerment laws that impose higher DWI sanctions against individuals who place a child passenger at risk, New York lacks such law.
Man indicted on 3 counts vehicular homicide
NEW ROADS [LA] — A Pointe Coupee Parish grand jury today charged a Lafayette man with three counts of vehicular homicide in a crash involving two 18-foot boats on False River the night of May 16, killing three Baton Rouge men and injuring another. The indicted man — Jerry Jordan, 53, 142 Steiner Road, Lafayette — had been arrested June 5 and booked with reckless operation of a watercraft and first-offense driving while intoxicated in connection with the crash.. Judge James J. Best set Jordan’s bail at $75,000 and gave him until 4:30 p.m. Thursday to surrender at the Pointe Coupee Parish Detention Center to face prosecution in the case. Col. Winton Vidrine, Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries’ chief law enforcement officer, reported in June that Jordan’s blood-alcohol level was 0.10 percent at the time of the crash. Killed in the wreck were Baton Rouge residents Christopher W. Austin, 20; Brian Doherty, 21, and Sterling Forbes, 22. A fourth man, Brian Lummen, 21, also of Baton Rouge, was in the boat with the other three and recovered from his injuries. Austin was the operator of the boat in which three died, investigators have said.
In ‘sexting’ case, officer admits he offered to get woman’s DUI charge dismissed
A Goddard, Kan., police officer admitted in federal court that he offered to have a woman’s drunken driving charge dismissed in exchange for sex, the U.S. Attorney’s office announced today. Calvin Schaffer, 44, of Goddard, made the admission as part of a plea agreement. Schaffer pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Authorities said he arrested a woman Feb. 27 for drunken driving. He later sent her a text message and said he could arrange to have the charges dismissed if she agreed to have sex with him. He also was accused of using police department computers to send nude pictures of himself to the woman. The messages traveled through Internet servers in California and Virginia. Schaffer will be sentenced Nov. 16. He faces a
Skagit DUI defendant commits suicide
Close del.icio.usde.licio.us DiggDigg FacebookFacebook NewsvineNewsvine RedditReddit StumbleUponStumbleUpon Google BookmarksGoogle Bookmarks Yahoo MyWebYahoo MyWeb TwitterTwitter Last updated September 2, 2009 12:42 p.m. PT Skagit DUI defendant commits suicide THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CONCRETE, Wash. — A man who was expected to plead guilty in a Skagit County drunken driving case was found dead just hours before he was due in court. County Coroner Daniel Dempsey told The Skagit Valley Herald that Philip Brown shot himself. His body was found Wednesday morning outside his home in Concrete. Prosecution and defense attorneys expected he was going to plead guilty in Mount Vernon two counts of vehicular homicide. Attorneys had agreed on a 3-year sentence for Brown. The 65-year-old former airline pilot was accused of causing an accident on Oct. 1 on Highway 20 east of Sedro-Woolley. One motorcyclist died at the scene, and a driver died later in a hospital.
2 Ogden officers face unrelated DUI charges
HARRISVILLE, Weber County — Two Ogden police officers are facing DUI charges in unrelated cases. Detective Robert Buck, 34, and officer Jared Ingalsbe, 28, are each charged with one count of class B misdemeanor DUI. The charge against Ingalsbe stems from a June 30 single-vehicle crash, said Harrisville Police Chief Max Jackson. Ingalsbe told responding officers he had fallen asleep at the wheel, the chief said. His car struck a power pole and several trees. “Four vehicles were damaged by debris,” Jackson said. “He didn’t (make) contact with them, but four vehicles were damaged by debris.” Ingalsbe was taken to an Ogden area hospital for treatment of minor injuries. While at the hospital, Ingalsbe consented to provide Harrisville police with a blood sample, Jackson said. “Last week his blood results came back, and at the time of the accident, he would have been at or slightly above the legal limit and had a prescription drug on-board,” he said.
Ritter does about-face, keeps DUI enforcement funds intact
DENVER [CO] — Governor Bill Ritter started his day Wednesday saying he would cut funding for DUI checkpoints to help close a $320 million budget shortfall. But Wednesday night, he had a change of heart. Ritter had proposed cutting the $1.4 million dollars paid to 56 police agencies this year to cover the overtime of the “Heat is On” crackdowns on holiday weekends. Critics, including, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, came out against it saying the savings would come at the cost of more lost lives. “Alcohol-related crashes will likely be on the rise. Preventable deaths and injuries will be on the rise in Colorado. And I think Gov. Ritter will have to answer to that,” says MADD Director Emily Tompkins. Tompkins says the checkpoints have been working. Before Law Enforcement Assistance Funding in 1981, Colorado set an all-time record for alcohol-related crash fatalities with 468 people killed. Last year, she says, that number dropped to 218 deaths.
Driver In Fatal SUV Crash Was Drunk, Prosecutors Say
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. — The driver of an SUV that crashed SUV through a Douglasville home, killing one man and injuring several other people, was drunk, according to prosecutors. William Stuart, 47, had a blood alcohol level of .19, twice the legal limit, prosecutors said after a bond hearing for Stuart Tuesday morning. A judge denied bond for Stuart. Prosecutors charged Stuart with vehicular homicide, DUI, and two counts of injuries by vehicle. Prosecutors said Stuart has two prior DUIs, one in Smyrna in 1990 and one in Atlanta in 1989. Stuart is accused of ramming his SUV through a house Saturday night and killing 60-year-old George Michael Bryant. The wreck also injured several family members who were gathered at the house for a birthday celebration.
Judge sets bond in James Bell vehicular homicide case
Bell is charged with vehicular homicide in the first degree and DUI refusal. McCoy said one of the other traffic investigators says she smelled alcohol on Bell at the hospital shortly after the crash. But McCoy said Bell refused to let that investigator administer a blood alcohol test. McCoy said Bell showed up at SCMPD headquarters six hours later offering to take one. Bell’s attorneys, Steven Scheer, says no one, not first responders or any witnesses, ever said Bell appeared drunk or smelled of alcohol. It’ll now be up to a grand jury to decide if the DUI charge and all the other traffic charges, including vehicular homicide will stick. In the next three months, a Chatham County grand jury will hear the case and decide if there’s enough evidence to send the case to trial.
Alaska Supreme Court Allows Science Evidence in DUI Cases
…Valentine argued that he had two beers before getting behind the wheel and that neither the field sobriety test nor his driving that night showed any evidence of impairment. Alaska Statute 28.35.030(s) prohibited Valentine from making the medical argument that at the time he was behind the wheel, the alcohol had not been absorbed into his bloodstream and his blood alcohol content (BAC) was under the legal limit of 0.08. The high court summarized the scientific evidence. “Typically within an hour after a person has stopped drinking, the person’s body has absorbed much of the alcohol consumed and is eliminating alcohol from the bloodstream faster than it is absorbing it — that is, the point of ‘peak’ blood alcohol level has passed,” Chief Justice Dana Fabe wrote for the court. “But in some people this ‘peak’ point may not be reached for up to four hours after drinking because the rate at which the body absorbs alcohol depends on a variety of factors, including consumption of food, having an upset stomach, and the type of alcohol consumed.
Arizona court ruling: DUI blood test requires warrant or consent
A new Arizona court ruling says authorities must obtain a search warrant to conduct a blood test of a DUI suspect unless the suspect clearly consents to have blood drawn. The state Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that it wasn’t enough under state law that a man apparently didn’t object when officers moved to take a blood sample while in a police DUI van. The court notes that the law in question is called “implied consent” because drivers are subject to a civil driver’s license suspension if they refuse to have blood drawn. But the ruling says motorists clearly still have the right to withhold consent for a warrantless search. The Court of Appeals sent the case back to a lower court for a finding on whether the man involved actually consented.
Man charged with vehicular homicide changes plea
A Billings man charged with vehicular homicide changed his plea Monday morning. Switching his plea from not guilty to guilty, Matthew Murray Kewitt, stood before Judge G. Todd Baugh in Yellowstone County District Court. Kewitt pleaded guilty to one felony count of vehicular homicide while under the influence and one count of negligent vehicular assault for his involvement in the March 7th, 2008 car crash that caused the death of a baby. Reports reveal Kewitt, who was 23 years old at the time of the accident, was making a left hand turn on his way to work that morning around 7:00 a.m. when he hit the oncoming car of Alyssa Kline, who was 19 years old at the time of the accident, head on. Kline was seven months pregnant. Her baby was delivered prematurely via emergency C-section and died 9 days later due to trauma from the accident. Kewitt confessed that he did not see her vehicle before making the turn and took full responsibility for the accident.
107-year sentence given in hit-and-run
A Tulsa County judge who described a jury’s verdict as “just” sentenced a woman Tuesday to 107 years in prison on six felonies linked to a five-fatality hit-and-run. Kimberly Elizabeth Graham must serve five consecutive 20-year prison terms for first-degree manslaughter and a consecutive seven-year prison term for leaving the scene of a fatal accident. “Five members of our community were killed as a direct result of the defendant’s wrongful and criminal conduct,” said District Judge Tom Thornbrugh, who denied a defense request for concurrent sentences. The law requires her to serve at least 85 percent of each of the five manslaughter sentences — which would amount to 85 years — before being eligible for parole. Graham, who turns 39 on Sunday, picked up the six convictions at a March trial. Thornbrugh, who did not handle that trial, told her that his review of testimony suggested “your inability at this point in time to accept and take ultimate responsibility.” Assistant District Attorney Jason Rush maintained that Graham was impaired by alcohol when she drove a Dodge Ram pickup into a group of people who had gathered in a Tulsa street to help an injured motorcyclist about 11 p.m. on Nov. 9, 2007. Killed were De Anna Rosser-Coatney, 42; her husband, Ronald Coatney, 49; Anita Pauline “Polly” Foote, 50; Casey Jones, 29; and Shannon Montgomery Lacey, 36.
Micanopy mom faces tougher charge
A young mother from Micanopy [FL] whose 3-year-old son and 9-year-old stepdaughter were killed when her vehicle collided head-on with another vehicle on County Road 225A in March will face charges of DUI manslaughter, the State Attorney’s Office has announced. The charging decision comes a little less than a month after the Florida Highway Patrol arrested Tiffany A. Davis on a charge of driving under the influence. The patrol said lab tests revealed the 27-year-old had traces of cocaine, cannabis and Oxycodone in her blood at the time of the crash. The DUI, a second-degree misdemeanor, has been dropped. Davis is now staring at significantly more serious charges punishable by up to 30 years in prison. In addition to two counts of DUI manslaughter, a second-degree felony, she is also being charged with child neglect causing great bodily harm and DUI with serious bodily injury. The latter charge applies to a third child in the vehicle who was paralyzed. “FHP has the discretion to make the arrest. Once they make the arrest we review the case. They made a decision to arrest on DUI,” explained prosecutor Toby Hunt. “Once we had everything…we came to the determination that a simple DUI charge would not do justice in a case with the severity of the facts.” Davis was driving her 2000 Chrysler northbound on CR 225A near the intersection of Northwest 100th Street on March 1 when her van collided head-on with a 2004 Chevy Silverado driven by James D. Roberts. Roberts, who was not seriously injured, told FHP troopers that he was forced to swerve his truck when Davis’ vehicle crossed into his lane, a claim Davis’ attorney disputes.
Manslaughter charge added in Thruway DWI case
Rockland [NY] prosecutors yesterday added a charge of vehicular manslaughter against a 20-year-old Suffern man accused of having a blood-alcohol level twice the legal limit when he crashed his car and causing the death of a childhood friend. Brian L.Frankel pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree vehicular manslaughter, a felony, and a misdemeanor count of driving while intoxicated in Clarkstown Town Court. Frankel was released on $2,500 bail set by Justice Craig Johns. His driver’s license was suspended automatically based on the DWI charge. Frankel is accused of causing the death of Dominic Zeoli, 21, of Suffern, when he crashed a 2003 Ford Mustang on the New York State Thruway at 1:44 a.m. Aug. 16. Frankel was driving from a bachelor party for Zeoli’s brother at a West Nyack strip club on Route 303 when the crash occurred. Zeoli, a Suffern volunteer firefighter and Rockland Community College student, was ejected from the back seat and crushed when the Mustang rolled on top of him, state police investigators said. Two other friends suffered minor injuries in the crash.
Pro surfer Milton Willis to be sentenced for manslaughter
A professional surfer who was drunk when he crashed his friend’s car on a Del Mar [CA] street, killing the man, is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday. Milton Willis, 53, pleaded guilty June 18 to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, with an allegation of great bodily injury in connection with the accident that killed Bradley Dillahunty of Laguna Niguel on June 6, 2008. Willis faces a minimum of probation and a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison when he is sentenced by Vista Judge Daniel Goldstein. Willis, of Solana Beach, was seriously injured in the 1:40 a.m. crash in which he lost control of Dillahunty’s Toyota Avalon on Coast Boulevard while driving about 65 mph in a 25-mph zone, authorities said. The sedan hit a parked car and smashed into a palm tree. Just before the accident, Dillahunty, who worked as a musician, had been at Jimmy O’s, a sports bar-restaurant on West 15th Street in Del Mar, sheriff’s officials said. Read more: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009–09-01/news/local-county-news/pro-surfer-milton-willis-to-be-sentenced-for-manslaughter#ixzz0QCOCxZZh
Legal maneuvers slow case of men charged in 9-year-old’s death
The case against two men implicated in the death of a 9-year-old McKinleyville girl during a street race will drag on again due to procedural issues. Jason Whitmill, 31, is standing to answer for second-degree murder charges and other charges, along with 19-year-old Anthony Flores, who is charged with vehicular manslaughter. The two were allegedly involved in a street race on State Route 299 outside Arcata on Oct. 6. Prosecutors allege that when Whitmill tried to pass Flores’ vehicle, his car crashed into a Chevrolet Tahoe, which spun off the road and slammed into a power pole. The crash killed 9-year-old Nicole Quigley and seriously injured her mother, Debra, who were in the Tahoe. Whitmill has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence causing injury and engaging in a speed challenge. Flores has pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter, engaging in a speed challenge and participating in a hit-and-run injury. Whitmill’s attorney Glenn Brown challenged his client’s second-degree murder charge, but Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Dale Reinholtsen ruled the evidence would support the claim. Brown then appealed to the State Appellate Court, and was rejected.
Police make 546 DUI arrests in 10 days
PHOENIX [AZ] — Phoenix police have been blanketing the entire state looking for drunk drivers the past few weeks in a Labor Day crackdown. The campaign called “Over the Limit, Under Arrest,” started Friday, Aug. 21 and will end Monday, Sep. 7. In the first ten days of the enforcement campaign, police say they have made 546 DUI arrests. 54 of those DUI arrests were aggravated, 492 were misdemeanor and 191 were extreme (.15 blood alcohol content or above). The average BAC has been .16, doubling the legal limit of .08. Police have made 51 minor/underage DUI arrests and they have made 49 DUI arrests of individuals who have prior convictions. Alberto Gutier with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety says drive hammered, get nailed, and it’s just not worth it. “It’s important people realize what the dangers and consequences are,” Gutier said of driving drunk. “I’ve seen people lose their jobs that they’ve had for years because they were drunk and they got caught.” Gutier added that it will cost thousands of dollars in fines and court costs to get squared away after a DUI, something that is quite costly in this economy.
W’burg man receives sixth DUI charge
Early Thursday morning, Daniel Baird, 25, of Williamsburg [KY], received his sixth driving under the influence charge since 2005. While traveling on Ky. 92E, Baird was involved in a single-vehicle accident. On Baird’s arrest citation, Williamsburg Public Affairs Officer Shawn Jackson wrote, “The offender had slurred speech and was unsteady on his feet.” According to the citation, Baird “stated that he had taken Suboxone and Xanax.” Because of the extent of Baird’s injuries, Chief Wayne Bird said Baird was not taken into custody and, instead, received medical treatment. The pickup truck he was driving sustained front-end damage, and Chief Bird said Baird had a “severe laceration” on his face, along with other injuries. Williamsburg police issued Baird a court date and will present the case to a Whitley County Grand Jury in September. In addition to DUI, he was also cited for not having his operator’s license in his possession and failing to maintain required insurance. On June 19 of this year, Baird was charged with his fourth offense of DUI in Campbell County, Tenn. On his arrest citation, Baird was said to have “performed field sobriety tasks poorly.”
CELL PHONE CALLS LEAD TO DUI ARRESTS — ONE IN BELFAIR [WA]
Two different reports over the weekend from concerned citizens using their cellular phones to report erratic driving resulted in two drunk-driving arrests. In both incidents, the arrested drivers were found to have BAC levels more than double the legal limit. During the first incident Saturday evening, a citizen observed a vehicle weaving repeatedly across the centerline traveling south on SR3 near the Bremerton Airport just after six. The vehicle continued into Belfair and into a residential area off Sandhill Road where the motorist was contacted and determined to be intoxicated. The 24-year-old Belfair resident, with a prior DUI conviction on his record, was again arrested for DUI. Because of jail overcrowding, he was released after being processed. The second incident occurred Sunday evening just before seven, where another motorist reported a pick-up pulling a full size travel trailer was weaving badly traveling eastbound on SR16. Troopers were able to overtake the vehicle as it entered Pierce County. The 32 year old male driver from Puyallup was arrested for DUI and later booked into the Pierce County Jail.
Cops: Drunken teen clipped Sleepy Hollow officer with car
A 19-year-old West Dundee [IL] woman faces a laundry list of charges after hitting with her car a Sleepy Hollow police officer who was conducting a breath test on another suspected drunken driver. Elizabeth Moore, of the 500 block of Lincoln Avenue, hit the female officer around 1 a.m. Thursday at the intersection of Sleepy Hollow and Huntley roads, Sleepy Hollow Chief Jim Montalbano said. The officer and her partner had stopped another motorist near the intersection for a possible DUI. The spot, though outside village limits, was the nearest “safe place” where the driver could be pulled over. As the female officer reached inside the car to get the testing device, Moore, who had slowed to see what was going on, clipped her with her side view mirror, Montalbano said. Moore continued driving until police pulled her over near Hamilton and Huntley roads, he said. The officer, who was hit in the lower back, was taken to Provena St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin but released later that night. Montalbano said Moore admitted she’d been drinking but refused to take a breath test. She was charged with driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident, improper passing of an emergency vehicle and hitting a police officer. She was sent to Kane County jail and released on $3,000 bond.
Anchorage judge is charged with 2nd DUI
Anchorage [AK] Superior Court Judge Patrick McKay has been charged with drunk driving. An Anchorage police officer pulled over McKay’s Toyota Camry Thursday at 9:30 p.m. for a traffic infraction on the outbound Glenn Highway, police said. When the officer made contact with him, McKay was found to be under the influence, according to police Lt. Dave Parker. The officer put the 56-year-old judge under arrest and took him to the Anchorage Jail where he was later released on $500 bail. His arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 14. McKay has been removed from handling criminal cases, his supervisor said Saturday. This is the second time McKay has been charged with drunk driving. In 1988, he was convicted and served the mandatory three days in jail. On his application for the judgeship he currently holds, McKay called the driving incident “a life changing event — and one that I would not be shy from sharing with others for their benefit.”
Sobriety checkpoint honors Denver cop killed by DUI driver
DENVER, Colo. — We’ve seen streets, parks and buildings dedicated in people’s memories. But on Friday night, for the first time, Denver police and the Colorado department of transportation remembered an officer killed by a drunk driver nearly four years ago. They honored Officer Bob Wilson by dedicating a sobriety checkpoint after him. They stopped drivers and besides checking to see if they’d been drinking, they reminded them why they shouldn’t drink. “You never think something like this could happen to your family, until one day it happens,” says Frieda Wilson, bob’s wife, at a Denver Police press conference outside Denver District 4. Her husband died 6 months after a drunk driver turned in front of Wilson’s motorcycle on the night before Christmas Eve 2005. “He hit the side of the truck, fell straight to the ground, the driver took off, and ran over his motorcycle,” says Officer Tom Bogart. He and Officer Joe Velázquez were there that night. “It was Christmas Eve eve. He didn’t have to work. He had enough seniority. He had the day off but he came in to work to help us out,” says Velázquez. Wilson was headed home from his shift when he stopped to help Bogart whose motorcycle ran out of gas. He gave him a ride to the gas station. Then, Velázquez took Bogart from there. They were riding behind Wilson when the accident happened.
Deputy hits cop car
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) — A Volusia County Sheriffs Office deputy was arrested overnight after hitting a marked police car. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Deputy John Harvey, 51, rear-ended a South Daytona Beach Police cruiser early Saturday. Troopers say he left the scene when an officer tried to stop him. South Daytona later arrested him on suspicion of DUI. FHP will also charge Harvey with DUI, reckless driving and leaving the scene of a crash. According to the sheriffs office, Harvey was off-duty and in a personal vehicle when he was pulled over. The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office has been placed Harvey on administrative leave. Harvey has been with the sheriffs offices for 12 years. He works in the civil section.
Hot Springs man charged with vehicular homicide in accident that killed son, daughter
HOT SPRINGS — Clinton Phelps, 28, of Hot Springs is accused of driving drunk and killing his two 6-year-old children in a one-vehicle rollover Monday. Fall River County [SD] State’s Attorney Jim Sword filed court charges Wednesday accusing Phelps of vehicular homicide, vehicular battery, driving under the influence or an alternative count of driving a vehicle with .08 percent or more by weight of alcohol. Both Faralynn Marie Phelps and Adrian Harlan Phelps were ejected from the vehicle during the 9:20 p.m. accident on Cascade Road about 2 miles south of Hot Springs. The South Dakota Highway Patrol said Clinton Phelps lost control of the vehicle, and it crossed the road into a ditch, landing on its top. He wore a seat belt and suffered non-life threatening injuries. The girl died at the scene of injuries. The boy died Wednesday at Rapid City Regional Hospital on what would have been his sister’s seventh birthday. According to Fall River County Court documents, crash investigation reports show that Phelps’ breath analysis tested at .195 percent alcohol. Two blood samples, drawn at different times, showed blood alcohol levels of .20 and .177.
Agreement denied in County 34 case
Freeborn County District Court Judge Steve Schwab on Thursday denied the plea agreement entered by Freeborn County Attorney Craig Nelson and the lawyer for the driver of the sport-utility truck that crashed into a washout on Freeborn County Road 34 last summer, in which two people died. Schwab said he would not accept an agreement for driver Charles Kenneth Dennison, 21, that didn’t include a sentence in prison. The judge said he spent a great deal of time reviewing Dennison’s pre-sentence investigation, recommendations of the Minnesota Department of Corrections, numerous letters from relatives and friends of Dennison, and a letter from the young man’s employer. He also considered Dennison’s blood-alcohol content at the time of the crash and the fact that he had a previous drunken driving charge and was still on probation at the time of the crash. After hearing the judge’s remarks, Dennison’s lawyer, Cean F. Shands of West St. Paul, indicated he and his client would withdraw the guilty plea made during the agreement. The case will move back to an omnibus hearing. Without a plea agreement, it is likely the case will go to trial.
Hamilton County: Woman indicted for vehicular homicide in fatal crash
The Hamilton County [OH] grand jury has indicted a woman in connection with a fatal crash that occurred on Highway 60 on April 26. Sarah Lamb, 24, was indicted on two counts of vehicular homicide, four counts of reckless endangerment, driving on a revoked license and third-offense DUI, said Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Janice Atkinson. Orvil and Patricia Laymon, both 68, were riding a motorcycle north on Highway 60 when a truck traveling south driven by Ms. Lamb crossed the center line and into the path of a motorcycle. Both Mr. and Mrs. Laymon were killed, Ms. Atkinson said.
Wilton man charged with manslaughter after fatal crash
WILTON [CT] — Nearly two months after a collision on Ridgefield Road claimed the life of Wiltonian Thomas Fleming, police have charged a local man involved in the crash with manslaughter. Gregory Dionisio, 21, of 221 Catalpa Road, turned himself in to Wilton police at approximately 6 p.m. on Thursday after learning there was a warrant for his arrest. He was charged with manslaughter with a motor vehicle in the second degree, driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, failure to drive right on a curve and failure to wear a seatbelt. Michael Lombardo, Wilton’s acting police chief, said toxicoligy reports show Dionisio’s blood alcohol level was “well above” the legal limit when his vehicle hit Fleming’s motorcycle on July 5, and he had illicit drugs in his system. Lombardo did not disclose what drugs were found in Dionisio’s system, however.
