Free Republic

JOLIET — Luis V. Benito, 18, of Bolingbrook, was sentenced Wednesday to five years in jail for killing a sleeping woman when he crashed his SUV into her Bolingbrook apartment while driving drunk. Assistant State’s Attorney Fred Harvey asked Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak for a lengthy sentence because of the nature of the crime. “If there is a circumstance, judge, when someone should feel safe, it’s clearly asleep in their own bed,” he said. “ … This is not a situation where the defendant was out driving drunk and hurt no one or hit another car on the road.” Josefina Prospero,...

Laura Barfield spends a lot of time these days swinging around Florida in her state-issued Chevy to defend the technology that the state uses to catch drunken drivers. As the state's chief defender of the breath-testing Intoxilyzer, her job is to assure everyone that the most challenged of all forensic tests is accurate and reliable. In recent weeks, she has been called to testify in Sarasota, Hillsborough and Port St. Lucie counties. In the weeks ahead, she has dates with courtrooms in Taylor, Lake, Leon, Pinellas and Escambia. It has gotten to the point where the state's breath-testing machine is...

There are victims of drunken driving. And, according to one Montana legislator, there are victims of drunken driving laws. While speaking out against a proposed bill that would make DUI laws more strict for repeat offenders, state Rep. Alan Hale, R–Basin, said drunken driving regulations hurt local businesses and are "destroying a way of life."

The biggest soap opera of 2009-10 has a new episode. An obscure DUI arrest last October in Florida is getting attention now that Alyse Lahti Johnston is rumored to be Tiger Woods' new girlfriend. Terez Owens Online broke the story about Woods' supposed new girlfriend over the weekend, saying the couple had been dating for several months and were recently spotted together on his yacht. Radar Online called Alyse "a stunning blonde (who) is a dead ringer for Woods' ex-wife Elin Nordegren. At just 22, she is 13 years younger than the golfing superstar." Radar Online says she is a...

A new law under consideration would call for installation of a device that would allow six violations before stalling the car It's called "The Roads Safe Act" and opponents claim it's designed to put an alcohol detector in every car, just like an airbag or stereo. Currently ignition interlock systems are only installed by court order. Mechanics who work with the Smart Start System say you don't have to be over the legal limit to stall out. "Normally what they should calibrate it at .03. I believe for most people that's the warning level," said Garrett Benedict, a mechanic.

Police in northern Ohio say a man who was asked during a traffic stop whether he'd been drinking took a swig from an open can of beer and told the officer, "Yes." According to Cleveland's WJW-TV, the Elyria police report says 25-year-old Stephen Supers was pulled over early Wednesday because the officer had observed him speeding. The report says that after Supers took the drink in front of the officer he failed a series of field sobriety tests. Supers is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday on charges including driving under the influence, driving under suspension and possession of marijuana...

Ashley Turton, a former Democratic aide whose death last month shocked friends and colleagues on Capitol Hill, was under the influence of alcohol when she crashed her car into the family garage early on the morning of Jan. 10, an autopsy found. According to a statement released Friday by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the District of Columbia, Turton died from the “inhalation of products of combustion and thermal burns” caused by a fire after her car crashed into the garage of the Turton’s Capitol Hill home. Turton, a mother of three, was also under the influence...

Ashley Turton, a former senior aide to Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), was intoxicated when she died in an accident last month, according to an autopsy report. Turton, who was working as an energy lobbyist at the time of the accident, died from the “inhalation of products of combustion and thermal burns,” according to Beverly Fields of the D.C. Chief Medical Examiner’s office. “Acute alcohol intoxication” was a contributing factor in her death, Fields said. Turton was found dead inside of her burned SUV, which apparently caught fire in the early morning hours inside of her garage on Capitol Hill. Turton...

*UPDATE* Thanks to everyone who voted over the past two weeks but tomorrow (Jan. 31)is when the voting ends. Treyton's Field of Dreams briefly slipped to third (top 2 get funded)over the weekend but is now back in 2nd. We can assume there are activists for the group listed below who are trying to win badly. If you could take just 5 minutes of your FReeper time and vote I know the the whole town of Whitewater, Wisconsin would appreciate it. Dear FRiends, I have never asked for any help from the FReeper community so I am going to appeal...

Dear FRiends, I have never asked for any help from the FReeper community so I am going to appeal to you to help build a 'Field of Dreams' in memory of a young boy. www.refresheverything.com/treytonkilar Treyton was a 6 year old boy, a family friend of a colleague of mine at Elkhorn (WI) Middle School, who was killed by a drunk driver. His project is battling for #2 the voting, in the $250K neighborhoods category. Curious to what he is battling? How about a nationwide movement for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered youth. That's correct, a group out of New...

OAKLAND -- The Alameda County District Attorney's Office has decided not to file charges against Oakland City Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente for drunken driving, claiming there was not enough evidence to pursue criminal charges. De La Fuente was arrested and booked into jail last month by the California Highway Patrol on suspicion of driving under the influence. The CHP said at the time that De La Fuente was driving erratically and failed a sobriety test. We will bring you updates as more information becomes available.

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Harris County law enforcement agencies will again crack down on drunken drivers during Christmas and New Year's, but the expanded operations no will longer be limited to holiday weekends. The "no refusal" initiative — a countywide program that expedites search warrants for blood samples from drunken driving suspects who refuse breath tests — now will be in effect every weekend for the next three years due in large part to a grant recently issued by the Texas Department of Transportation to the Harris County District Attorney's Office. The initiative, which also includes funds from the District Attorney's Office, will total...

Tampa, Florida-- With New Year's Eve only days away, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration expects this to be one of the deadliest weeks of the year on the roads. But now a new weapon is being used in the fight against drunk driving. It's a change that could make you more likely to be convicted. "I think it's a great deterrent for people," said Linda Unfried, from Mother's Against Drunk Driving in Hillsborough County. Florida is among several states now holding what are called "no refusal" checkpoints. It means if you refuse a breath test during a traffic stop,...

It means if you refuse a breath test during a traffic stop, a judge is on site, and issues a warrant that allows police to perform a mandatory blood test.

California's colonization by illegal aliens with a well-known penchant for driving drunk may put an end to the inconvenience of DUI checkpoints, which moonbat activists deem to be racist: Two local advocate groups for undocumented immigrants have publicly accused the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sherriff's Department of using DUI checkpoints to legally seize thousands of cars. The Southern California Immigration Coalition and the South Central Neighborhood Council claim DUI checkpoints are strategically placed in and around Hispanic communities as a trap to catch unlicensed and undocumented drivers. "In one impound, four cars were impounded because...

On Feb. 11, 2006, in Iraq, I was honored to meet a model Marine by the name of Cpl. David Stidman. He did two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. Commendably, he also left his post to come home and care for his ailing father, Dwayne Stidman, who tragically was hit and critically wounded by a drunken driver last May.Three months later, on Aug. 2, 2010, Cpl. Stidman was killed. Not on the battlefields of the Middle East, but on his home streets of Texas while still caring for his father and family. And not by a drive-by shooter,...

Helena woman charged with 2nd DUI after hitting beer truck Posted: Dec 3, 2010 3:52 PM by Melissa Anderson (Helena) Updated: Dec 3, 2010 4:08 PM Karen Schourg, a 44-year-old Helena woman, was apprehended by Helena police on Friday after she hit a Budweiser beer truck and a basketball hoop with her car. Schourg was arrested for her second DUI around noon on Friday. According to Lt. Steve Hagen, Schourg was driving a 1993 Honda when she struck the beer truck while it was parked at Friendly's convenience store. The woman then drove off and was reported driving recklessly around...

HANOVER, VA (WWBT) - One man is dead and a suspected illegal immigrant is facing a manslaughter charge. This after a two-vehicle crash Friday night on E. Patrick Henry Boulevard in Hanover county. What's left now is only the yellow paint, shattered glass, and a broken brake light; scattered reminders of a violent and deadly crash. It was about 10:00 Friday night. Casey Bohr, 23, of King William was driving home. Authorities say Bohr's car was sideswiped by an SUV in the oncoming lane, driven by Feliciano Suarez, 39. Bohr's vehicle then tore into the side of the road and...

Tomorrow, while celebrating with friends and giving thanks for all that He has given, please…don’t drink and drive. This video is the message America needs to see, but the alcohol lobby won’t allow you to see. So, I present it here: (Forgive me if I offend anyone, but it needs to be told) http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=Z2mf8DtWWd8