According to a recent study conducted and funded partly by the federal government, alcohol has a greater impact on drivers as compared to marijuana. Researchers carried out this study to understand and find the impact of alcohol and cannabis on drivers and concluded that alcohol had a significant impact as compared to cannabis. Drivers who had consumed alcohol had “significantly increased lane departures/minimum as well as maximum lateral acceleration; these measures were not sensitive to cannabis.” The research also concluded that cannabis-influenced drivers attempted to drive more cautiously “to compensate for impairing effects, whereas alcohol-influenced drivers often underestimate their impairment…Read More
Former Philadelphia Police Sgt. Thomas Winkis was involved in a fatal crash one night in 2013. He was travelling at a speed of 35 to 40 miles per hour when another driver pulled out in front of him who was turning onto State from Ashburner Street in Holmesburg. According to police present at the scene that night, the sergeant seemed sober. The officer at the scene told that Farries pulled out in front of him as he was driving 35 to 40 m.p.h. However, when a prosecutor provided evidence stating that he was legally intoxicated in a hearing on Monday,…Read More
NETHER PROVIDENCE TWP. – A sobriety checkpoint is planned in Delco this weekend, as announced by the Nether Providence Police Department on Thursday. The checkpoint will be conducted from Friday through Sunday between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. According to the police, the checkpoint will focus on identifying those drivers who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Their aim is to stop these impaired drivers before they are involved in a collision, thereby increasing the safety of all motorists on the roadways. A report published in the Inquirer stated, “This event symbolizes the commitment of the Nether Providence Police…Read More
32-year-old Meredith Williams-Earle was arrested and put behind bars after she was involved in a fatal drunk driving crash on the morning of 6 August 2013. Williams-Earle, who is from Lower Merion, holds a degree in education and was teaching Latin at Interboro High School in Delaware County where she used to spend her own money to support her students. On the morning of the incident, she bought a prescription sedative, gulped down some champagne, before filling a plastic cup with whiskey and heading out. She then strapped her 2-year-old son loosely in the car seat of her Toyota Prius…Read More
As states like Pennsylvania ponder over the changes needed to toughen drunken driving laws, and Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman takes measures to get repeat offenders off the roads, the state of Ohio takes a more visible but different approach to fight repeat drunk driving. The state of Ohio has been issuing special license plates for DUI offenders since 1967, also called “party plates” or “scarlet letter plates”. The plates, which are yellow in color, have red-lettering on them and were ordered to be issued by judges. However, an overhaul of Ohio’s drunken driving laws in 2004 authorized the…Read More
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