February 2011 Archives

Danae Miller has been accused of killing a bicyclist while she was driving under the influence in Newport Beach, but some California residents are wondering why this 22-year-old woman was able to drive with a valid license in the first place. According to The Daily Pilot, Miller has received 15 different citations for various traffic violations since 2005.

The bulk of Miller's traffic citations were reportedly in her first year of driving. Now at age 22, Miller can face serious criminal charges that include DUI and vehicular manslaughter. The fatal accident took place last week on San Joaquin Hills Road near Spyglass Road.

The Los Angeles Police Department conducts DUI checkpoints just about every weekend with money provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety. This week, LAPD has announced a DUI checkpoint in the city of Sherman Oaks at the following time and location:

Friday February 25: Ventura Boulevard between Noble Avenue and the San Diego Freeway (I-405), between 8:00 P.M. and 2:00 A.M.

Authorities in California have been trying various enforcement tactics to prevent repeat DUI offenders from driving under the influence, but perhaps the best way to stop the repeat offense is through the installation of ignition interlock devices.

According to Reuters, a study conducted by the Community Guide branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that re-arrest rates for alcohol-impaired driving decrease by 67 percent after the ignition interlocks are installed, when compared to drivers with only suspended licenses and no ignition interlock device in their vehicle.

Watch where you’re driving this weekend. Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department will be setting up at least one roadblock on Saturday to catch drunk drivers breaking the law. This week’s LAPD DUI checkpoint will be taking place in the 77th Division of the Southern Los Angeles region at the following time and location:

• Saturday February 19: Florence Avenue between Gramercy Place and Western Avenue, 6:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.

LAPD states that DUI checkpoints are regularly conducted in the community in order to reduce the incident of injuries, death, and property damage associated with drunk driving. The 77th Division alone apparently experienced 129 DUI-related traffic collisions last year. Hence, the need for more DUI enforcement.

Most impaired driving suspects will have to appear in court when they've been charged with DUI-related offenses. However, in some extreme cases, the defendant can go through court procedures in an alternative location.

The Los Angeles Daily Breeze reports that 21-year-old Anthony Louis Fragoso recently pleaded guilty to charges of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence from a hospital bed, as he was seriously injured in the car crash that killed two others on the 91 Freeway in Anaheim.

A recent drunk driving crash in San Gabriel might remind people in the Los Angeles County community of how dangerous impaired driving can be. As stated in the Pasadena Star-News, a 22-year-old man from Rosemead allegedly drove into oncoming traffic on February 8 after crossing a divider and caused a head-on collision with a Honda vehicle.

The driver of the Honda was hospitalized at the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center and was described as in “critical but stable condition” after the crash. The DUI suspect, Kai Tian, was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving with bodily injury and was being held on $20,000 bail.

Soap opera watchers might be a bit disappointed to learn that actor Kristoff St. John was arrested this week on suspicion of driving under the influence. The Los Angeles Daily News reports that the actor was booked at the Van Nuys Jail and now faces drunk driving charges.

Apparently Los Angeles authorities saw St. John as a threat to public safety, as California Highway Patrol officers pulled him over on Highway 101 after he was seen traveling at alleged speeds of about 90 miles per hour. He was then taken into custody after failing field sobriety tests, but was released on February 6 after reportedly posting the $5,000 bail.

The female star of the TV sitcom "My Name is Earl" filed for a divorce from her husband last month, but this now seems to be the least of her current legal drama. According to The Los Angeles Times, actress Jaime Pressly is now facing multiple DUI charges in the midst of her crumbling marriage and she could be facing up to six months in jail if convicted of all the DUI charges that she faces.

The two DUI charges stem from the actress' January 5 arrest in Santa Monica. Last week, Pressly pleaded not guilty to charges of driving under the influence and driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.20 percent or greater.

Police say that an excessive number of DUI arrests in Southern California are connected to Baja Sharkeez bar in Huntington Beach. According to the Los Angeles Times, at least 72 of Sharkeez's customers were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence within the last 22 months. Perhaps this means that police will impose a greater crack down on DUI crimes in the Huntington Beach area.

The high number of DUI arrests around Sharkeez brings up the question of what should be done when there's a large number of arrested drunk drivers coming from one particular establishment. The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is now investigating the bar to see if they can figure out exactly why so many DUI arrests come from the Sharkeez patrons.

There’s a new alcoholic beverage that 19 state attorneys general are trying to ban. No, it’s not Four Loko, which already significantly changed its product due to an FDA concern. The new drink being criticized is called Blast by Colt 45, which is manufactured by Pabst Brewing Company.

According to CBS News, the drink has a 12 percent alcohol content and is packaged in single 23-ounce cans. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has said that one can of Blast is equivalent to drinking five beers. Five beers in a single serving can obviously cause significant impairment. Blast has even been nicknamed “binge in a can” on its Internet ads.

A former Los Angeles cop was convicted of leaving the scene of an accident this week, but acquitted of driving with blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent. The Los Angeles Daily News reports that the jurors in the case were also divided on a third criminal charge of driving under the influence causing injury.

Officer William Skett was taken into custody after being convicted of hit-and-run and ordered to undergo a 90-day diagnostic evaluation in prison. The results of the evaluation can determine Skett's sentence.