39-year-old Christopher Gish of Dickson City, who slipped through 3 DUIs due to a legal loophole, could now be imprisoned for more than 10 years after closing of that loophole. Gish faced three quick DUI arrests last year, but because of the loophole, he faced a lighter punishment. He has now withdrawn his guilty plea in Lackawanna County Court, Tuesday, and all his cases will go through the legal process again. The recent change to the state drunken driving laws leading to harsher penalties lead to the identification of the courtroom discrepancy. According to the state laws, cases that receive…Read More
Steven Stinsky, a Berks County police chief, was jolted by his own Taser while he attempted to arrest a man suspected of driving under the influence. The Fleetwood police was on patrol Sunday night when he got a report of an erratic driver. He followed the suspect’s vehicle all the way to a trailer court in Upper Macungie Township, Lehigh County, where a number of events took place. The officer observed that the suspect went inside and started making coffee for himself. The suspect, identified as 65-year-old Terrance DeAngelo, was ordered by Stinsky to come outside for a field sobriety…Read More
HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania legislature is seriously considering the use of speed-enforcement cameras and alcohol-triggered ignition locks as inaction by Congress poses a threat to highway projects statewide. The announcement was made by state officials on Tuesday in which Leslie S. Richards, the action Transportation Secretary, and Democratic leaders of the House Transportation Committee told business and transit executives that funding boosts approved by state lawmakers in 2013 could be undermined by Washington gridlock. According to Richards, if Congress fails to act before the funding authorization for the federal Highway Trust Fund expires on 31 May, it could pretty much “erase the…Read More
Southwest Philadelphia – 26-year-old Officer Darryl Cathey, who has been with the Philadelphia police department since the last 6 years, is facing DUI charges after he was caught driving a marked police cruiser with flat tires. The incident happened on Saturday 28 March at around 12:20 a.m. when officer Cathey allegedly pulled up to 12th district headquarters on the 6500 Woodland Avenue. He was driving a marked police vehicle which had three flat tires and bent rims. A police sergeant on the scene at 12th district allegedly smelled alcohol on officer Cathey’s breath. He also observed that the officer had bloodshot…Read More
LANCASTER – A 71-year-old woman was killed Sunday night after a suspected drunk driver plowed his vehicle into her Lancaster home. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The accident took place around 10:55 p.m. in the 1000 block of West Avenue J-12, when 25-year-old Aaron Benson was allegedly driving a silver 2001 Toyota Tacoma while under the influence. He collided his vehicle with several parked vehicles on both sides of the street after which he lost control and crashed into the victim’s house. The vehicle went straight into the victim’s bedroom where she was sleeping. The crash was loud…Read More
HARRISBURG, Pa. – Lawmakers in Pennsylvania are close to enacting legislation that would require ignition interlock systems for people convicted of DUI for the first-time. John Rafferty, chairman of the state Senate Transportation Committee, has been pushing for the legislation for four years. He is very hopeful that the legislation will be passed in the coming session which will require installation of ignition interlock devices for first-time DUI offenders. Under the current law, repeat DUI offenders are already required to install an ignition interlock device, but the proposed bill would mandate installation of Ignition Interlock Devices for first time offenders with…Read More
54-year-old Nicholas Chaban was more than twice the legal limit of alcohol with a side of cocaine when he got a DUI citation in December 2013. He was cited 3 more times by September. On Friday, Former chief financial officer for the Philadelphia health-care provider Mazzoni Center, Chaban pleaded guilty to all 4 DUIs, as well as trespassing and drug-possession charges that came in the month of May after he was bounced from a Conshohocken bar. According to Montgomery County Court Judge, Cheryl Austin, “I’ve got five files in front of me. That’s a record”. He is still not going…Read More
On Thursday, 3 Washington Township police officers took the stand in trial of fellow officer Joseph DiBuonaventura, providing a range of testimony about the phone call that resulted in events leading up to the arrest of Assemblyman Paul Moriarty in the year 2012. After a morning full of testimony from Sgt. Martin Calvello which paid attention to the call his cousin Ernie made to him the afternoon of 31st of July, relaying a concern about Moriarty’s attitude at the Nissan dealership where he worked. Det. Lisa Frattali, who heard them talking took the stand and said why she mentioned it…Read More
A drunk driver taken into custody by Philadelphia Police officers on Friday afternoon in Northeast Philly on the suspicion of drunk driving died hours later his arrest. According to the authorities, the 29-year-old suspect was brought to a detention center in Center City at around 3:45 p.m. at 750 Race St. He was put in a cell at the detention center while he waited for a breathalyzer test. When the police officers went to check on him at around 10:15 p.m. they found him unresponsive. This was more than six hours of arriving at the detention center. Police officers checked…Read More
As medical marijuana is legal in almost half the states and as a small number of Americans are saying that they are in favor of recreational availability as well, the tensed medical researchers are making efforts to project the potential impact on public health problems ranging from addiction to cognition to traffic accident fatalities. To answer the question that could easier access to marijuana decrease deadly car accidents is that according to a new study, traffic deaths in nine states, in which New Jersey is also included, is that high rates of toxicology testing is admittedly hazy. In the journal…Read More