UPPER DARBY – On Friday night, a fatal collision took place between a vehicle and a motorcycle at the intersection of Coverly and Marshall roads, which resulted in the death of a Lansdowne man. 47-year-old Gregory Hayes was pronounced dead at the accident scene at 11:12 p.m. He was of the 200 block of Braddock Road. Hayes is a Philadelphia School District police officer who was on his way to work the midnight shift. He was riding a motorcycle to work. The suspect, identified as 30-year-old Salome A. Seay, of the 200 block of Coverly Road, in the Lansdowne post office…Read More
WEST CHESTER – Nothing stopped Robert Landis as he took to Chester County’s roadways drunk over the last 3 decades. On Wednesday, Landis was sentenced for killing a motorcyclist in 2013 while driving drunk again. As the Judge sentenced Landis to serve eight to 17 years, County Court Judge Anthony Sarcione said, “It’s just complete indifference to the value of human life, so many times”. Landis is known as the county’s worst drunken driver, according to the prosecutor. He confirmed seven DUIs prior to killing 24-year-old Liam Crowley in April 2013. At previous hearings, the 50-year-old West Chester man has spoken…Read More
LEVITTOWN, Pa. – According to police reports, a driver accused of hitting and killing a teenager from Bucks County and injuring another one while driving under the influence of a prescription drug will not be charged. The driver was also under the influence of cocaine. The victim’s family members say it is a miscarriage of justice. The victim, identified as 15-year-old Zachary Gonzalez, was struck and killed along Route 13 while riding his bike with his friends. The incident took place 3 months ago, but police tape still marks the spot where the incident took place. Since the DA’s office says…Read More
A new study carried out by researchers reveals that the role of alcohol in U.S. traffic deaths may be significantly under-reported. The study used data from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System which notes the blood alcohol levels of people killed in traffic accidents. They analyzed the data and compared it with data on death certificates from all the states and reported that more than 3 percent of death certificates listed alcohol as the contributing factor in fatal car crashes between the years 1999 and 2009. However, data provided by NHTSA showed that 21 percent…Read More
31-year-old Sarah Ann Derstein, of Lansdale, was sentenced to 4 to 8 years in prison as a result of a an accident which resulted in the death of a teenager last year. According to police reports, Derstein was driving drunk and was reading a text message when the accident took place. Police reports show that Derstein drove her car into a group of boys who were walking along the shoulder of the road. 15-year old Dennis Kee was killed when the car hit him and another teen was injured. A report by the prosecutors showed that Derstein fled the accident…Read More
According to a recent survey conducted by AAA, fewer motorists in New Jersey today consider drunk driving to be a ‘very serious’ safety problem. The same survey conducted four years ago showed a different result. A total of 1,000 random motorists from around the state were participants of the survey which was conducted in November. The survey asked respondents to rank the problem of DWI. They were given 4 options to choose from: “very serious” “somewhat serious” “not very serious” and “not serious at all” In 2009, a total of 87 percent of the participants answered “very serious,” compared to…Read More
According to the Pennsylvania defense lawyers, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s refusal to accept an appeal of the Superior Court’s ruling that the accuracy of alcohol breath tests in highest-rate driving under the influence cases must be determined at trial, has taken much of the steam out of what once seemed as it can be a game-changer for DUI law. A DUI lawyer with Wagner & Spreha in Harrisburg, Pa, Edward F. Spreha Jr., who was not involved in the case, said that Commonwealth v. Schildt, which had the potential to impact large number of pending driving under the influence cases…Read More
Barry M. Searfoss Jr., a former state trooper, has been sentenced for a fatal crash that took place in Upper Dublin in 2012 that resulted in the death of a woman. According to reports, the ex-lawman pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol on Tuesday in a Montgomery County Court. The two-vehicle collision took place on a section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Upper Dublin which resulted in the death of 21-year-old Robin Williams of Philadelphia. News Source: www.TheIntell.comRead More
In an attempt to fulfill the requirements of individuals, authors of changes to Pennsylvania’s penalties for 1st time DUI offenders made no one happy. Only repeat DUI offenders are required to install an ignition interlock in their vehicles which require individuals to give a breath sample after which the device allows the engine of the vehicle to start. Proposed changes in the law will increase interlock requirement for almost every individual but not in the way the state legislative affairs manager for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Frank Harris, would like. He wants to see those individuals convicted of drunken driving…Read More
This rule was adopted in 2013 to address the issues raised by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, 557 U.S. 305 (2009), that held that the 6th amendment confrontation right precluded presentation of laboratory reports without a live witness testifying in the trial. In Melendez-Diaz, the U.S. Supreme Court noted with approval the use of ”notice and demand” procedures as a means of permitting routine laboratory reports to be admitted without the expense of supporting the admission by live expert testimony while protecting a defendant’s confrontation rights. This rule provides a ”notice and demand” procedure for Pennsylvania.…Read More