Drunk Female Driver Faces 18 Years in Prison for Fatal Crash

Dec 14

Los Angeles LawyerVehicle Accident, motor vehicle accident DUI, facial injuries, head on collision, motor vehicle crashes 1 Comment

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes usually involved male drivers but lately, the number of female drunk drivers have been on the rise.

In fact, in Orange County a fatal head-on collision which killed two sisters led to the conviction of a young female driver. Jessica Lynn Shekell, 22, of Anaheim reportedly had a blood alcohol content level (BAC) of 0.26 percent, which is more than 3 times the state’s legal limit of .08 percent.

Two California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers testified that Shekell was driving in the wrong direction on the freeway when the crash occurred on Highway 91 near Gypsum Canyon Road. Before they could apprehend her, she had crashed her Toyota pick-up into the vehicle of the Miguel sisters, Sally, 49, and Patricia, 30.

The sisters, who had their 15 and 11-year old nieces with them were on their way home from Knott’s Berry Farm when the accident occurred last October 25, 2009. Prosecutors claimed that Shekell had been to 2 bars in Placentia with friends and had consumed several alcoholic drinks.

The head-on collision killed Sally Miguel immediately and Patricia, who was riding in the front passenger seat died at the hospital. The girls suffered internal injuries. Shekell was also injured and had arm fractures and facial injuries.

Last October 28, she pled guilty to 2 counts of felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated as well as 1 count of driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury. Shekell is likely to face the maximum sentence of 19 years and 8 months in prison.

Getting drunk, whether on drugs or alcohol, increases the risk of motor-vehicle traffic crashes, violence, and other injuries. This is the reason why there are legal limits prescribed by states because the more intoxicated a person is, especially when he is driving, the greater threat he poses to other motorists.

Women have traditionally, been less likely to be drinking and driving. But the changing culture and society has given women more freedom to do what they want, even if the choices they make are not necessarily wise (such as DUI). Women are even more prone to getting intoxicated faster than men because of their weight or body fat.

While women have the right to go out, get a job, or have fun with friends like any other men, these rights also come with the responsibility to be a prudent and careful driver and avoid harm to other motorists.

95-Year Old Driver Killed in Bus Collision

Jun 17

Los Angeles LawyerVehicle Accident DUI, impair driving ability, motor vehicle accident 1 Comment

Last Monday evening, a 95-year old driver perished in an accident when his car was involved in a head-on collision with a bus.

The elderly Porterville man was driving westbound in his 1995 Pontiac on Road 296 when he inexplicably drifted into the eastbound lanes. He crashed into the bus driven by Cheryl Lyn Seitz, 48, of Porterville.

He was taken to Community Regional Medical Center where he died. Three bus passengers, David Johnson, 41, and Angela Roberts, 38, of Lindsay, and Luz Carrillo, 34, of Porterville suffered minor injuries and were taken Sierra View District Hospital for treatment.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there were 26 million Americans aged 70 years old and older living in the United States — approximately 67 percent these were also drivers. Now that baby boomers are fast becoming old, the growing number of elderly drivers now presents a serious road safety concern.

While elderly people do not get involved in as many crashes as teenagers, a number of them still lose their lives in fatal crashes. In 2008, as many as 4,268 people aged 70 and above were killed in motor vehicle crashes.

The main reason for fatality rates however, was the elderly driver’s fragility. Fragility or their risk of death in a crash increases around ages 60-64 and continues to rise with increasing age.

As drivers age, their physical, cognitive, and visual abilities may also decline. Most often, their vision starts to become impaired and they have slower reflexes. Also, many older drivers take medications for various age-related ailments. Medicine, whether prescription or over the counter, can impair driving ability at any age but can be especially impairing for an older driver.

So if you are an elderly driver, or know someone who continues to drive despite their old age and condition, it would be best to undergo screening the next time the license is to be renewed. It also isn’t advisable to take medication right before driving as some drugs can cause drowsiness and even trigger a DUI-related accident.

There is no general rule regarding elderly drivers being allowed to drive as long as they are able, therefore, it would be up to you, whether as the elderly driver or his/her family, to take appropriate measures to ensure that there is no road safety risk to avoid causing accidents.

Alexandra Kerry is Finally Free of DUI Charges

Nov 25

Los Angeles LawyerPersonal Injury Alexandra Kerry, DUI 1 Comment

Alexandra Kerry is finally free of any DUI charges.This came after prosecutors declined to pursue charges against her for insufficient evidence.

The incident in question started when Alexandra was stopped by an officer for an expired registration.

Earlier, Kerry was arrested for suspicion of DUI but the breathalyzer showed that she only had .06 BAC. It is well under the .08 BAC limit in California.

Many would raise an uproar that she probably got off the hook for being the daughter of John Kerry.

However being the daughter of a senator and a former presidential aspirant was not really what cleared her.

It was her BAC.

It is routine in California for prosecutors to stop pursuing DUI charges against drivers who passed a breathalyzer test.

Since Alexandra registered a .06, under the law even if she did have a few drinks, she was technically not under the influence of alcohol.

The exception would probably be for drivers aged 21 and below where a BAC of .01 % can already result to an automatic 1 year suspension of driver’s license.

Anyway Alexandra is far from being a minor and the prosecutors found insufficient evidence that she was under the influence.

That should serve as a conclusion on this issue.

Sweeping Arrests for DUI, Reckless Drivers Made in East County

Nov 20

Los Angeles LawyerDUI, Personal Injury DUI No Comments

As the saying goes, “If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime”.

East county residents (or at least, those with outstanding traffic warrants) got a rude awakening when the Sheriff’s Department assisted by officers from the El Cajon and La Mesa police and the California Highway Patrol conducted a sweeping arrest.

The sweep targeted 750 people with outstanding warrants for driving under the influence and misdemeanor violations such as driving under a suspended license and reckless driving. Majority of the warrants were for DUI.

The operation which started at a very early 6 o’clock in the morning, was dubbed as Highway 67 Arrive Alive Campaign. However, only 67 arrests were made from the original target.

Several of those arrested also had more than one warrant of arrest issued against them and according to the Sheriff’s Department, 105 warrants were taken off the books. The 67 people arrested were booked into county jail and will likely face enhanced penalties.

While drunk drivers are obviously road hazards, drivers who operate their vehicles recklessly and pay no heed to traffic rules are just as dangerous.

A lot of the times, while people seem to think DUI is harmless or that speeding isn’t dangerous at all, these drivers often learn their lessons too late because of a tragic car crash they have triggered because of their driving behavior.

For a lot of motorists and pedestrians, every minute these drivers are allowed to drive is a threat to their security and safety. Enforcing the law through warranted arrests is one way of pre-empting drunken car crashes or motor vehicle accidents caused by the reckless driving.

Some lessons are learned through tragedy and some are learned through the enforcement of laws as they should be.

Man Pleads Guilty to La-Z-Boy DUI

Oct 26

Los Angeles LawyerDUI, Personal Injury DUI No Comments

Well, the law says that for a person to be charged DUI he had to be driving a vehicle, and apparently motorized upholstery counts as a vehicle too.

That’s what we found out today when a Minnesota man pleaded guilty to driving his motorized La-Z-boy while drunk.

The Laz-boy was powered by a converted lawnmower and even had a cup holder and a stereo.

According to reports, Dennis LeRoy, 62, told the police that he left a bar in Proctor aboard his La-Z-boy after drinking 8-9 bottles of beer.

He eventually crashed to a parked vehicle.

The prosecutors said that his BAC at the time of the “vehicular” accident was .29%, which is very high and serves as an aggravating offense.

DUI offenders with at least .20% BAC in Minnesota may be given an increased punishment under the “enhanced penalty rule.”

LeRoy got 180 days jail time and two years probation for the offense.

Just goes to show the flexibility of the law. It did not say that it had to be a car or any other common vehicle that you need a license to drive.

It just stated that everyone is prohibited from driving a “vehicle” while under the influence.

In truth, an improvised vehicle like that could even be more dangerous as its crashworthiness has not been tested.

He’s lucky that no one got hurt during the incident or the charges could have been graver.

Thankfully, the damage was limited to the parked car and probably his La-Z-boy.

On the Rise and Counting: Female DUI Offenders

Aug 07

Los Angeles LawyerDUI, Personal Injury DUI 3 Comments

While men and troubled young celebrities are most often perceived as the culprits behind the incidence of DUI, you may be surprised to hear that more and more mothers and responsible female executives are getting collared for drunk driving.

The statistics recently released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the FBI reveal that women in the United States drink more and that the gap between drunken-driving arrests among women and men are getting narrower these days.

The spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Rae Tyson said that there are parts in the country where the majority of impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes are female.

Dianne Schuler was described friends and family as a devoted mom and businesswoman but she took 8 lives, including her own in a wrong-way drunken car crash in New York. Autopsy reports also say that she was under the influence of drugs.

Even the daughter of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia pleaded guilty to drunk driving charges when she was stopped by the police after going to McDonald’s with three kids in the car. Another woman caused the death of her daughter’s friend after a night of clubbing.

FBI figures show that nationwide, the number of women arrested for driving under the influence or alcohol or drugs was 28.8 percent higher in 2007 than it was in 1998, while the number of men arrested was 7.5 percent lower.

The rising number of women drunk drivers are attributed to the fact that women are driving more, are behaving as recklessly as men and because of the pressure and recession, more women are getting into excessive drinking, overeating, smoking and drug abuse.

The arrest of drunken mothers with children in the car was even called by Chuck Hurley, CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving as the ultimate form of child abuse.

While women empowerment is ultimately a blessing, the abuse of it can become a curse. Women often lead more stressful lives than men because not only are they now required to have a career, but they must also raise their children well and be loving wives. There is indeed pressure to become a “supermom”.

This in turn, leads to the abuse of substances in an attempt to escape or at least, feel better about the burden they bear as women. And sadly, regardless of intent, women end up making bad choices, like drunk driving and often put their lives and those of their families’ at risk.

Most of the DUI ads and campaigns are directed towards men and teenagers but it’s a good thing that now, the government realizes that female DUI offenders can be just as rampant and fatal.

In this generation where the lines of equality have been blurred, where women are just as empowered and driven as men, inevitably, they are also bound to make the same mistakes. Tragically, supermom or not, they are hardly invincible.

Minor Driver and Passenger Face DUI Charges

Jul 14

Los Angeles LawyerDUI DUI No Comments

It never ceases to amaze how much trouble a teenager can get into, especially when it comes to cars.

Most recently on the news, two Santa Rosa teenagers were involved in a car crash after driving under the influence of alcohol and speeding on Hall Road. However, as it turns out, the driver isn’t the only one guilty. His minor female passenger had apparently, tried to wrestle the wheel away and caused the crash.

According to the California Highway Patrol, while the car was traveling at 70-80mph when it skidded off the road, hit an oak tree and overturned. The two suffered moderate injuries and were taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

The 17-year-old male driver may be charged with DUI. The 17-year-old female passenger, was over the .08 percent BAC limit and was also arrested on suspicion of felony drunken driving causing injury.

The names of the teens involved in the crash will not be released as the driver may be arrested and the girl because she is a juvenile facing a criminal charge.

Underage drinking is inextricably linked to risky behavior, especially such as driving under the influence. While the legal age for drinking is 21, it is still a popular activity for America’s youth because it is relatively easy for minors to get their hands on alcoholic beverages.

According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, if teenagers are convicted of using alcohol or a controlled substance and if they are between the ages of 13 and 21, the court will tell DMV to suspend you for one year.

If the driver doesn’t have a license yet, the court tells DMV to make you wait a year longer before you can apply for a license. The driver can also be required to go to a DUI program. Any restriction, suspension, or probation will continue past the teen’s 18th birthday for its full term.

Other stronger actions can be taken if the driving record or the incident justifies them. In California, once the driving privilege has been suspended or revoked, one cannot drive in California with any license or permit.

Teenagers, when once they have the opportunity to drive should be in mind one very important advice: Don’t drink and drive. If they take that lesson to heart, they will be saving not just their lives but a good deal of trouble and inconvenience in the future.

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