Category: Drunk Driving Accidents

A 43-year-old female reportedly had a blood alcohol content nearly three times the legal limit in Arizona on Tuesday night when she got behind the wheel and drove through Prescott. As she neared the intersection of Whipple Street and Willow Creek Road, the woman reportedly lost control of her vehicle and started running into construction vehicles. He car came to a rest after four other vehicles were hit.

Local police report that the woman was driving a pickup truck and that she traveled over 1,700 feet after the initial impact before her vehicle finally came to rest. Unfortunately the construction site was active with approximately 35 workers on the scene. At least two workers were injured in the collision and were taken to Yavapai Regional Medical Center for treatment. Though the conditions and the nature of the injuries of the workers are not currently known, reports indicate that both were released from the hospital later on Tuesday.

The driver of the pickup truck did not explain the crash to local police and she was also taken to Yavapai Regional Medical Center for treatment. Shortly after, she was released to police custody where she was charged with multiple counts of driving under the influence of alcohol, felony endangerment, and aggravated assault. If convicted, the woman will face the possibility of a several year prison sentence. Police claim that the woman’s alcohol content as measured by her breath was nearly three times the legal limit; the police are currently awaiting confirmation of the level through blood and urine tests.

The serious nature of this incident cannot be overstated. Arizona law presumes a driver is under the influence when the driver’s blood alcohol content is 0.08 or greater. In the event a driver’s BAC is 0.15 or greater, the law classifies that as extreme driving under the influence. Repeated violations can even lead to a designation as aggravated driving under the influence and to the assertion of additional penalties or longer sentences.

Not only is driving under the influence a crime in Arizona but acting recklessly in a construction area with construction workers present is a separate and additional crime. This alone can result in a driver losing a license, facing a fine, or even incarceration. Construction workers are engaged in a dangerous but necessary field and the laws are sensitive to the needs to protect these individuals.
Continue reading “Prescott Extreme DUI Driver Hits 4 Construction Vehicles, Injures 2”

The Mohave County Sheriff’s Department reported an incident on Saturday evening involving a driver under the influence of alcohol. The 56-year-old Kingman man was reportedly driving 89 miles per hour in an area with a speed limit of 65. When deputies pulled the man over, they detected the smell of alcohol and questioned the man about it. Reportedly, the man admitted to drinking a six pack of beer before driving that evening.

The deputies put the driver through a field sobriety test which the driver reportedly failed. He was taken into custody and tests later revealed his blood alcohol content to be 0.253, more than three times the legal limit of 0.08.

While driving under the influence and speeding are bad enough, even worse is that the man allegedly had his 10 and 12 year old daughters in the car with him at the time. Fortunately, this driver was apprehended before a collision occurred and anyone was injured.

Too often, though, drunk drivers are not caught until after a crash. Speeding often occurs in tandem with drunk driving which can make any collision more deadly. Drunk drivers not only put their own safety at risk but also the safety of their passengers, other drivers, bicyclists and even pedestrians. When a driver is drunk, everyone on the road is at risk for injury.

Every year, more than 250 people are killed in Arizona in drunk driving collisions. Many of these fatalities – nearly 75 percent – occur in urban areas. A driver in Arizona cannot drive under the influence of alcohol or any intoxicating compound, including drugs, and the driver is guilty of a crime if he does. What many may not realize is that a blood alcohol content of 0.08 creates a presumption that a driver is influenced by alcohol and therefore guilty of driving under the influence. In reality, a driver can be guilty of a violation of the law with any amount of alcohol in his system as long as that alcohol influences the driver’s ability to drive. This means that if a driver hurts another person in a car crash while under the influence of any amount of alcohol, he can be liable for the injuries in addition to any criminal charges levied by the State.
Continue reading “Driver with BAC 3 Times Legal Limit Had Two Daughters In Car”

A police officer El Mirage recently noticed a car that was traveling about five miles and hour and weaving back and forth across the road. Suspicious, the officer initiated a stop of the driver to investigate. The 36-year-old driver reportedly did not realize an officer had pulled over his vehicle until the cop knocked on the driver’s window near Grand Avenue and Thunderbird Road. The man did not have his hands on the steering wheel and hit a guardrail along the road, according to court documents.

Officers suspected driver was under the influence of alcohol by his actions and also by the fact that there was an open bottle of vodka within the driver’s reach. When they attempted to arrest the man, he had to be helped from his car because he was not able to get out on his own.

A blood alcohol content was taken and showed the man had a BAC of 0.377 percent, more than four times the legal limit of 0.08. The driver has been charged with extreme driving under the influence along with other counts that have not been specified. One count may be related to the fact that the man reportedly was driving on a suspended license.

The driver has two prior convictions for driving under the influence, one in 2010 and one in 2012. Police have not stated whether this is why the man’s license was suspended at the time of this recent arrest.

Fortunately a police officer noticed this driver’s erratic behavior before a crash occurred that injured or killed someone. Any driver under the influence of alcohol is a threat to himself and others but as the alcohol content in a driver’s blood increases, so does the threat he poses. Here, the driver’s blood alcohol level was so high that he could not get out of his own car. There is no reason this man should have been behind the wheel.
Continue reading “Driver Arrested with BAC More Than 4 Times Legal Limit”

A drunk driver in an SUV rear-ended a car at a high rate of speed on I-17 late Monday night, causing the SUV to roll and killing the 61-year-old driver of the car. The driver of the SUV survived and needed medical treatment but police intend to arrest him once he is released from the hospital.

The accident occurred near Anthem and north of the Carefree Highway on southbound I-17. Reports indicate that the SUV was behind the car and the driver of the SUV was speeding as he approached. The SUV collided with the rear of the car and caused the car to leave the highway and forcing both cars to spin out of control. The SUV rolled to the left across several lanes of traffic.

The driver of the SUV has only been identified as a 27-year-old male who police believe was drunk at the time of the crash. Additionally police have said that the man had a warrant out for his arrest in California stemming from drug charges. Though the SUV rolled over after the crash and the driver was hurt, he attempted to run away from the collision on foot but was stopped by a witness who tackled the driver and held the man until police arrived.

Police closed southbound I-17 for some time as they conducted an investigation but all lanes were opened by early Tuesday morning. Though the driver of the SUV has not been charged, he is expected to face criminal counts upon his release from the hospital which may include vehicular manslaughter.

Arizona sees more than 250 deaths in alcohol-related accidents every year. That is nearly 5 people killed every week in accident where alcohol was involved. These deaths are unnecessary and as this case illustrates, often it is a driver who is not drunk who is killed.

When a drunk driver injures or kills another, the law provides for a civil claim of action to recover against the drunk driver for any injuries or deaths that driver caused. This means that a victim or a victim’s family may be able to make a monetary recovery for their losses if a drunk driver is to blame.
Continue reading “Drunk Driver Kills 1 Near Anthem”

Tent City Jail has had a lot of well known inmates over the years, and now one more has successfully completed his sentence. Mark Grace, former Arizona Diamondback, finished a four month sentence earlier this week and has been released.Grace was arrested back in August near 72nd Street and McCormick Parkway for expired tags on his license plate. As the responding officer spoke with Grace, the officer determined he was under the influence and arrested Grace on suspicion of driving under the influence. It was the former baseball player’s second DUI arrest in 15 months and though his prior sentence required him to drive with an ignition interlock device, his vehicle did not have one. An ignition interlock device is designed to prevent a car from starting if alcohol is detected on a driver’s breath in a certain quantity and driving without one when it has been required is a felony.

Grace is known in Arizona for his playing time with the Diamondbacks as well as a later career as an announcer with the organization. After he was arrested the second time, Grace took a leave from his position with the club but later was reinstated. In January of 2013, Grace pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and endangerment as part of a plea deal. He also underwent alcohol counseling which he self described as going well.

Grace was sentenced to twelve hours a day in Tent City, Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s solution to jail overcrowding that places inmates in an outdoor facility comprised mainly of military surplus tents. Grace was released during the day to continue his employment as a coach on the staff of a Diamondbacks minor league team and he returned every night to sleep in the jail. He now faces two years of probation as part of the original plea deal.

Grace has given several interviews while in Tent City, including one with Sheriff Arpaio, and in many of them, he has taken responsibilities for his actions and encouraged others, especially children, to stay away from drugs and alcohol.

Fortunately, Grace was arrested after a routine traffic stop and before he caused a collision with another car, bicyclist, or a pedestrian. Though no one was hurt in this instance of drunk driving, many times driving under the influence leads to injuries through collisions, and leaves those injured with questions about their rights.
Continue reading “Mark Grace, Former Diamondback, Released from Jail after DUI Sentence”

Many police officers are on alert during long summer holidays because those holidays often include an increase in drinking across the state. That increase in drinking may lead to reckless behavior and often to driving under the influence which is both illegal and extremely dangerous.In anticipation of heavy drinking periods, more officers are on duty and are looking for signs of drunk driving. This may include driving significantly slower or faster than other traffic in an area, weaving in an out of lanes, or other aggressive behaviors like running red lights. Arizona law discriminates based upon the blood alcohol content (“BAC”) in a driver’s blood stream at the time a vehicle is operated in terms of what crime, if any, is committed.

A driver with a BAC under 0.08 is presumed not under the influence of alcohol and likely is not guilty of a crime, though if that person shows the affects of any amount of liquor while operating a vehicle, even a low level, can be guilty of driving under the influence. The law presumes that a driver with a BAC of 0.08 or higher is influenced by alcohol and therefore is guilty of driving under the influence while anyone with a BAC of 0.15 or greater is guilty of aggravated or extreme driving under the influence.

With the assistance of this knowledge, Arizona police officers questioned and arrested nearly 560 drivers over the long weekend for driving under the influence, including aggravated and extreme DUIs. These arrests were based on more than 13,000 traffic stops that occurred through early Tuesday morning. Of the 560 drivers cited, 31 of them were under the age of 21 and therefore not legally authorized to drink, meaning that those drivers are likely to face additional charges for possession of alcohol.
Continue reading “Arizona Police Officers Make Nearly 560 DUI Arrests Over Memorial Day Weekend”

A Monday morning car crash left one man dead and another seriously injured when a vehicle slammed into a Phoenix bus station. Now authorities say that a suspect has been arrested and is in custody facing criminal charges related to the incident.The 22-year-old driver of a Chevy Impala lost control of her vehicle and swerved to avoid oncoming traffic, veering into a bus stop in the area of 27th Avenue and Indian School Road. The bus stop was destroyed in the collision and one man waiting for the bus was killed. Another man suffered serious injuries and a third person waiting for the bus avoided injury when she ran into the road to avoid the speeding car.

The driver of the car and her passenger fled the scene on foot and avoided capture but the driver turned herself into authorities shortly after the crash. Officers noticed visible signs of impairment in the driver who admitted drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana before the collision. She has been charged with second degree murder, aggravated assault, endangerment, and leaving the scene of a fatal crash, which may have resulted after she ran a red light.

Arizona law makes it illegal to drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Any person who is under the influence is guilty of violating the law and may be criminally charged as a result. The law presumes that anyone with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or greater is under the influence of alcohol and may face a fine, community service, suspension of a driver’s license, or even incarceration in jail or prison, depending on the nature of the crime and any prior convictions for driving under the influence.

It is harder to determine if someone is influenced by drugs like marijuana at the time of a crash because traces of the drug may stay in someone’s system for longer than the effects last. However the law is clear that a driver is considered under the influence of a drug if the drug or its metabolite is detected in the driver’s system meaning that any presence of drug in a driver’s system, whether or not the driver is actively high, can be a violation.

Continue reading “Arrest Made in Phoenix DUI Crash that Killed Bus Patron”

An 18-year-old man in Phoenix caused a crash that left a 3-year-old boy dead and his sister clinging to life in an area hospital. Authorities suspect the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident and he is expected to face criminal charges as a result.The collision occurred on Southern Avenue and 36th Street where the driver reportedly swerved in and out of traffic before hitting a curb and several shrubs, overcorrecting his path of travel and crossing the center line, hitting a Pontiac G6 in a head-on collision.

The G6 was driven by a female who sustained serious injuries and was treated at a local hospital. She had a 5-year-old girl, a 3-year-old boy, and a 1-year-old girl in the car as well. The 3-year-old boy died from his injuries and the 5-year-old girl is in critical condition. It is not clear whether she will survive but the injured 1-year-old is expected to make it.

The at-fault driver was thrown from his vehicle upon impact and he was examined by doctors and treated before being taken into custody. Officials have not released the nature of the charges the man will face as a result of this crash.

The legal age to consume alcohol in Arizona is 21, so if the driver in this case was 18 and had alcohol in his system, he will likely face charges of underage drinking or possession in addition to the crash-related charges.

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is illegal in Arizona and extremely dangerous. In 2011, there were 103,423 automobile collisions resulting in 754 fatalities in the state. Of those collisions, 5,537 were caused by alcohol and those crashes resulted in 265 deaths. While collisions caused by alcohol accounted for only 5.33 percent of all crashes, the percentage of fatalities caused by alcohol was 32.12 percent, meaning that collisions caused by alcohol are much more likely to be fatal than crashes unrelated to alcohol.

In alcohol-related collisions, there may be several avenues towards a recovery for personal injuries, including claims against the drunk driver, the owner of the driver’s vehicle, a bar or restaurant that served the driver too much alcohol, or even a victim’s own insurance policy in the case of an uninsured or underinsured drunk driver.

Continue reading “DUI Driver Kills 3-Year-Old, Injuries Three Others”

Earlier this week, Phoenix Police responded to an accident caused by a driver that is believed to have been under the influence of alcohol, according to ABC 15 news. The driver failed to yield a red light and caused a collision early Tuesday morning, killing one person and injuring himself and a pregnant woman.The driver of a Mercury Sable ran a red light at the intersection of McDowell Road and 35th Avenue and hit a GMC truck, which caused the GMC to spin and hit a third vehicle, a Mercury Grand Marquis.

The Sable driver was not wearing his seatbelt and was seriously injured in the collision. He received treatment at an area hospital and his condition is not known at this time. The driver of the GMC was ejected from his vehicle and died as a result of his injuries. It appears the pregnant driver of the Grand Marquis sustained no life-threatening injuries but was transported to a local hospital for observation.

Phoenix has numerous collisions every year that are caused by a driver running a red light. Unfortunately these collisions often result in injuries and sometimes even death.

In 2008, there were 2,044 fatalities at intersections controlled by traffic lights in the United States. Of those fatalities, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration believes that 762 were caused when a driver ran a red light. As was the case in the recent Arizona crash discussed above, many of those killed are people other than the at-fault driver. Passengers in the at-fault driver’s vehicle, drivers and passengers in other vehicles, and even pedestrians are at risk when someone runs a red light.

The use of red light cameras at Phoenix intersections has been controversial over the last few years. The cameras are designed to photograph or film cars that do not stop for a solid red light so that the driver of the vehicle can be issued a citation, thus enforcing the law and raising revenue through fine collection. However new research suggests that the presence of red light cameras at intersections might also reduce collisions caused by running a red light.

A new study shows that red light cameras at intersections encourage motorists to be more cautious than at intersections without the cameras, making drivers more likely to stop for a red light when a camera is involved. This in turn has led to a decline in the number of red light related intersection collisions in Virginia, according to the study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The study showed that the cameras had the most significant effect of curbing red light violations that occurred long after the light changed: approximately 1.5 seconds after the light changed to red and longer. These are the red light violations most likely to cause a collision because traffic in the other direction often has entered the intersection by this time.

Regardless of whether or not a traffic camera is used at an intersection, it is never a good idea to run a red light. Doing so is illegal and can earn you a traffic ticket and a fine as well as other civil penalties. More importantly, running red lights hurts hundreds of thousands of people every year and causes hundreds of deaths. When driving, slow down and stop for red lights to keep yourself and everyone else on the road safe.
Continue reading “Phoenix Drunk Driver Runs Red Light, Causes Fatal Collision”

Current NFL Sunday Night Football play-by-play announcer Al Michaels was arrested for driving under the influence Saturday night in California. Michaels, famous for his announcement of the 1980 USA Olympic hockey win over the U.S.S.R., was taken to a Santa Monica City jail where he remained for approximately 5 hours before being released on his own recognizance.

Neither Michaels nor NBC made an immediate comment on the arrest and charges. Michaels is not scheduled for an initial court appearance until late June.

This story broke the same day as news that the bassist for the band 3 Doors Down caused a fatal collision while driving under the influence, highlighting some of the serious consequences of driving impaired.

Arizona suffers as a result of drunk driving collisions every day. Alcohol is a factor in more than 26 percent of all Arizona car crashes and alcohol-related crashes cost the state more than $431 million in 2001. Estimates indicate average alcohol-related fatality costs Arizona $3.3 million including $0.9 million in monetary costs and $2.4 million in quality of life losses.

Unfortunately impaired drivers are not just a hazard to themselves but also pose a significant threat to anyone on the road. Many drunk drivers are repeat offenders and have not been deterred by broad regulations and laws, prompting Arizona to create individualized and tailored punishments for these offenders. The most common alternative sentences for repeat offenders include impoundment of vehicles used to drive while drunk, breath-testing ignition interlocks designed to prevent a car from starting when a driver has a positive blood alcohol content, electronically monitored house arrest as opposed to incarceration, and intensive probation supervision with treatment for substance dependencies.

Though risks include fines and punishment, many Arizona drivers continue to drive impaired. Sober drivers can’t control the condition of other drivers on the road but they can take steps to keep themselves safe. If you notice a driver that appears to be drunk, call the proper authorities immediately and report the behavior. It is always best to prevent a collision whenever possible and law enforcement officers are trained to handle drunk drivers. Be alert while you drive especially during times most associated with drunk driving: weekends, late nights, and holidays. Most importantly, never drive drunk and never let a friend or family member do so. Always designate a driver or take a taxi if you will be drinking.
Continue reading “NBC Sports Personality Al Michaels Arrested for DUI”