'If drinking before five is wrong, I don't want to be right': Tweet 'posted by DUI driver hours before he crashed into kindergarten teacher and her son' killing them both

A kindergarten teacher and her son were killed following a car crash on Friday evening with a suspect -- who was found wearing only a towel and a BAC of 0.27%.

The accident took place at about 11.15pm in Northwest Austin.

Peggy Howard, 60, was declared dead just before midnight, the channel adds. She was a kindergarten teacher at Steiner Ranch Elementary School.

Worried about late-night driving, she had earlier dropped off son Cale Howard, 18, at the movies with a friend and had just picked him up.

Howard, a senior at Vandegrift High School, later died at Round Rock Medical Center several hours after the accident, Four Points News reports.

The deadly accident involved three vehicles.

Nicholas Michael Justin Wyzycowski, 21, drove a Chevrolet Avalanche when he rear-ended the Toyota Prius with Peggy and Cale Howard inside, the channel reports. An official said both cars moved into oncoming traffic, hitting a nearby Toyota Camry.

Witnesses at the scene told police the person driving the Avalanche fled from the scene without checking on the other victims, KXAN reports. He is described as only wearing a towel at the time of the accident.

Wyzykowski, witnesses added, was reportedly driving between 80 and 100 miles per hour. He reportedly was 'uncooperative, indifferent and cocky' with the investigating officer and refused to take a sobriety test, KXAN reports.

Wyzykowski's blood alcohol content (BAC), taken for medical purposes, was 0.27% -- more than three times the legal limit in Texas. He faces 19 felony charges, including 2 counts of intoxication manslaughter.

Three female passengers in the Toyota Camry had broken bones, statesman.com reports. One woman had a broken neck and another had a broken back.

Howard's friend in the Prius was sitting in the backseat and survived the crash, but had a broken femur, Four Points News reports.

The accident has left friends of the victims stunned.

Jim Freid and wife April, whose daughters went to school with Cale Howard, pulled up Wyzykowski's Twitter page on Saturday. Wyzykowski's account has since been removed, but Freid saved the posts.

Eight hours before the crash, Wyzykowski allegedly tweeted 'If drinking before 5 is wrong, I don't want to be right.' Another tweet, posted around 9pm, said 'Swangin.'

'Devastation, just absolute sadness,' Steiner Ranch Principal Susan Fambrough told KVUE. 'Because how do you explain to a 5-year-old that their teacher is gone?'

In a letter published online, Fambrough said the school has 'a plan in place' for students when they return to school on January 6.

Counselors will also available for all Vandegrift High School students needing support, principal Charlie Little wrote in a separate letter published on Sunday. A student support event was held on Sunday at 2pm, as well.

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Source: Daily Mail (Szathmary, 12/29)

Teen Who Killed Four People Got Off On Probation Because He's Rich

A 16-year-old boy who drunkenly killed four people got probation this week because the judge — with no apparent irony — agreed with the boy's defense that he was a victim of "affluenza," whose parents taught him wealth and privilege shield consequences. The teen had faced up to twenty years in prison.

Sixteen-year-old Ethan Couch admitted to four counts of manslaughter after he and seven other boys stole alcohol from Walmart, piled into his car and struck and killed four pedestrians while going 70 miles per hour in a 40 zone. One of his passengers remains in the hospital with severe brain damage, and nine other bystanders were also injured.

Couch's BAC was a .24 and he also had Valium in his system. According to reports, he was belligerent at the scene, at one point saying, "I'm outta here." Prosecutors were hoping to get up to 20 years.

Couch's defense was that he was a victim of his parents' wealth and privilege; in that he never had to face consequences, which an expert summarized prior to sentencing.

He said Couch got whatever he wanted. As an example, Miller said Couch's parents gave no punishment after police ticketed the then-15-year-old when he was found in a parked pickup with a passed out, undressed 14-year-old girl.

Miller also pointed out that Couch was allowed to drive at 13. He said the teen was emotionally flat and needed years of therapy. At the time of the fatal wreck, Couch had a blood alcohol content of .24, said Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson. It is illegal for a minor to drive with any amount of alcohol in his or her system.

The victims' families sort of agree with the reasoning, in that they too feel that Couch's privilege helped him avoid consequences.

Couch is now being sent to a $500,000-a-year counseling center. There are apparently five civil wrongful death suits pending against him totaling tens of millions of dollars.

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Source: Gawker (Bluestone, 12/10)

Drunk driving in Plano: Does Plano PD's no-refusal policy work?

This is one of three stories chronicling the Plano Police Department's efforts to eliminate drunk driving.

In 2012, nearly 1,100 people were killed in car accidents on Texas roadways involving a driver under the influence of alcohol, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.

To help decrease that number, police departments across the state often institute no-refusal policies during holiday periods. During such times, judges are on call to sign blood-draw warrants for drivers arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.

The Plano Police Department is working to eliminate drinking and driving in the city by utilizing a no-refusal policy.

However, some departments, such as Plano PD, have gone a step further and made the no-refusal policy permanent. The decision to use no-refusal tactics year-round came in mid-2012, but the department began the expanded policy in 2009 by having judges on call every weekend.

Now that the policy is in full effect, is it working? To answer this question, the Plano Star Courier looked at police records dating from 2007 to now.

The statistics show a correlation between the increased enforcement and a decrease in DWI arrests, but are unclear how the policy affected alcohol-related traffic accidents.

Arrests

In 2008, the year before the increased enforcement went into effect on weekends, 1,252 people were arrested for DWI or DUI in Plano. That number decreased slightly in 2009 to 1,235 arrests but decreased an average of 11 percent each year from 2010 to 2012.

Officer David Tilley said he believes the no-refusal policy serves as a strong deterrent to people who may consider drinking and driving in Plano.

"This is something that is important to our department and to our officers because our job is to protect the public," Tilley said. "Sometimes, unfortunately, that means protecting people from themselves. We are going to have additional officers out there on weekends doing DWI enforcement, and we are going to be arresting you if you have been drinking."

Accidents

In 2008, 212 alcohol-related accidents occurred, a number that decreased each year through 2011, when 174 occurred. The number of accidents rose to 248 in 2012 but is projected to decrease to 200 this year.

With no changes made to the department's accident reporting policy, Tilley said it is the belief of the department that the 2012 figure was an outlier and that the department's policies are working.

"That number was very much a concern," he said. "We looked at it and said, 'What did we do wrong?' We really didn't feel we did anything wrong, but we knew we could improve, and that is when we started trying to get more information out to the public."

Warrants

As expected, the number of blood draw warrants issued in 2012, the first year the policy was in effect year-round, increased; 258 warrants were issued last year, up from only 35 the year before. Through the first six months of this year, 169 warrants were signed by judges.

While getting a warrant may seem more complicated than conducting the standard field sobriety and breathalyzer tests, that is not typically the case, said Officer Mica Lunt, one of the department's DWI trainers. Lunt said drivers who refuse all tests are often easier for officers to deal with than those who don't.

"In the case of a total refusal, the officer makes a decision based on the driving that has led them to come in contact with the offender, the observations they make of the driver when they get to the vehicle, and the fact the person has refused the tests," Lunt said. "... If the officer believes the person is intoxicated, they simply make an arrest, take them to jail and apply for a search warrant."

The no-refusal policy has also proven popular with officers for a number of reasons, Lunt said. Chief among them is that it provides more evidence for the district attorney, which results in more cases pleading out rather than going to trial.

"That is good for officers in a number of ways since most of the officers who make these arrests work nights, and court happens during the day. When a case like that goes to trial, officers are up for more than 24 hours straight all the time," Lunt said, adding that officers who work nights are paid overtime if they must attend court during the day.

Since 2008, 504 blood-draw warrants were signed for Plano officers. In those cases, blood-alcohol results were available in 479 of them. Data from Plano PD shows that in these 479 incidents, the arrested person had a blood-alcohol content under the legal limit of 0.08 in only 15, or 3 percent, of the cases. The person's blood showed no alcohol in four of the 15.

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Source: Plano Courier (Conrad, 08/29)

Man who bought alcohol for a minor gets 90 days in jail

(BONHAM, TEXAS) -- A Texoma mother who lost her son in a drunk driving accident wants the adults who buy alcohol for minors to face harsher punishments after she says the man who bought alcohol for her son that day got off way too easy.

Thomas Calame Robinson and his friend Jesse Runyon were killed in December of last year when Robinson took the wheel after a night of drinking. The alcohol was purchased by 24-year-old Jeremy Horton who was sentenced Wednesday to 90 days in jail.

Tamberly Robinson says her son was the love of her life.

All she has left of her 18-year-old son Thomas are pictures and memories.

Tamberly Robinson said that her son was "full of joy and happiness, he lived every day as if it were his last, he was a good kid, but like most kids he made a mistake and he paid dearly for his mistake and so did his friend."

On December 7th last year Thomas took the wheel with passenger 17-year-old Jesse Runyon after drinking alcohol that 24-year-old Jeramie Horton bought for the group of minors - two 30-packs of beer and a handle of vodka. Police say Thomas was driving at a high speed and lost control of the car, killing both of the boys. Tamberly said a text message confirmed Horton had supplied the boys with alcohol.

Tamberly Robinson " I saw it on his phone when I got it back from DPS that said here I go playing the hero again and now the hero got 90 days in jail and 2 boys are dead my son and his friend."

Robinson says the punishment doesn't fit the crime.

Tamberly Robinson said, "The laws aren't tough enough for the people that are buying alcohol for our children because our children are dying."

But Fannin County District Attorney Richard Glaser told Alexandra Carter this is the first time he's put someone in jail for providing alcohol to a minor.

Richard Glaser, " We insisted upon it in this case because of the serious consequences. We wanted to send a message to the young people in Fannin County that they need to stop and think before they either purchase it from friend or buy it from a friend because terrible things can happen."

Tamberly says she's writing lawmakers and starting a movement for harsher penalties for those who provide alcohol to minors.

Robinson, " and that's just a pain I wouldn't want anyone else to go through, but if and when it happens I would like them to have a greater sense of justice than what we got.

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Source: KXII (Carter, 8/23)

Warrant issued for bar patron in fatal DWI

Montgomery County officials issued an arrest warrant for a man who allegedly gave drinks to an already intoxicated 24-year-old Nicole Baukus before she drove away from a bar and caused a fatal accident.

Baukus, who pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of intoxication manslaughter and one count of intoxication assault in the July 29, 2012, accident, was sentenced Friday to 38 years in prison.

After a night of drinking at a bar then called On the Rox, Baukus drove her pickup the wrong way on Interstate 45, colliding head-on around 2:50 a.m. with a Chevrolet Aveo near FM 242. The crash killed Nicole Adams, 19, and Travis Saunders, 18, and injured David Porras, now 23.

As an outgrowth of the trial, a warrant was issued Friday for Kambiz Michael Duran, 29, who is in the Harris County Jail after pleading guilty last month to possession of marijuana. On July 10, he was sentenced to 180 days in a state jail.

Harris County online records show that a hold from Montgomery County was placed on the Spring resident Friday, meaning that before Duran is freed, Montgomery County will have the opportunity to detain him.

Duran, a fellow bar patron, was seen on surveillance video giving Baukus a few drinks toward the end of the night, but authorities didn't know his identity, said Assistant District Attorney Warren Diepraam, co-prosecutor for the case.

"We could see him giving her drinks in the video but nobody would identify him," Diepraam said. "It was only during the trial when witnesses started testifying (that we learned his name)."

The same statute that makes it illegal to sell drinks to an intoxicated person also prohibits giving alcohol to someone who has already consumed too much, Diepraam explained.

On the Rox was cited for over-serving a customer and had its license suspended from Feb. 27 to March 28, according to the TABC. Since then, the bar's insurance company has agreed to a $1 million settlement for over-serving a patron.

The money is to be divided among Porras and the estates of Adams and Saunders.

Oscar Williams, a Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agent based in Conroe, testified during the trial that Baukus drank 17 shots and four beers. Most of the shots were a mix of bourbon, Red Bull and either peach schnapps or watermelon schnapps, William said.

Baukus and Duran apparently ran into each other at the bar, rather than arriving together, Diepraam said. He said he didn't know if the two were acquainted previously.

The bar is now known as the Flying Pug Sports Pub, according to the alcoholic beverage commission.

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Source: Chron (Christian, 8/03)

The human cost of drunk driving in Texas

Approximately every 20 minutes, there is an alcohol-related car crash in Texas. Each one of the 1,170 deaths caused by drunk driving in Texas last year were represented by an individual flag in front of the Gerald D. Hines Waterfall by Williams Tower Wednesday, June 26, as the Texas Department of Transportation held a press conference announcing the launch of facesofdrunkdriving.com, a website that shares the stories of more than a dozen people whose lives and families were irreparably altered by a person who chose to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol, as well as the agency’s support of the “no refusal” activities conducted by law enforcement across the state this holiday weekend.

“There were more than 25,000 alcohol-related crashes in our state in 2012,” said TxDot Spokeswoman Raquelle Lewis during opening remarks. “The numbers alone can’t describe the impact of these crashes on individuals and their families.”

Dennis Pennywell was the first to speak after Lewis, accompanied to the podium by his wife Kae and son Jack. The Pennywells know the toll that drunk driving takes on families as well as anyone. On June 25, 2011, 20-year-old Aaron Pennywell was driving home through Cypress from a late-night dinner at Whataburger when a drunk driver with a blood .241 alcohol level — over three times the legal limit — slammed into his car. The drunk driver survived; Aaron did not.

The totaled Mustang Aaron was driving that night was on display in front of Williams tower, serving as a grim reminder of drunk driving’s dire consequences.

Since investigators couldn’t conclusively determine who ran the red light where the crash occurred, Michael Giacona, the drunk driver, received only about 90 days in jail for a second offense DWI charge. He received shock probation on the condition that he spend four consecutive Saturdays on a street corner bearing a sign stating, “I killed Aaron Coy Pennywell while driving drunk.” After one Saturday, Giacona argued that holding the sign put his personal safety at risk, and the judge remanded him back to jail. After another few days he was released, Pennywell said.

“The truth is though, he’ll have to live with knowing that he killed an innocent young man because of driving drunk,” Pennywell said. “As a result of the crash, we had to immediately organize and pay for a funeral, something a parent shouldn’t have to do. There is enough disease and enough other reasons for parents to have to bury their child; drunk driving is 100 percent preventable. We had to learn a whole lot more about our justice system than we ever cared to know. We’ve spent a lot more time in the courthouse than we ever cared to spend. And we have to see that empty space at special occasions — Christmas, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, birthdays — Aaron’s not there, it’s an empty chair.”

Will Womble, chair of the Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) Houston chapter, took the podium to praise the benefits of the “no-refusal weekend” a program that gives law enforcement the authority to force suspected drunk drivers to submit to intravenous blood-alcohol testing if they refuse a breathalyzer.

“MADD supports the no refusal program,” Womble said, “and is proud to say that statistics show that over the last few years with the incorporation of no refusal programs in and around our community, the effects of drunk driving have gone down.”

Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia spoke next, flanked on both sides by deputies to accentuate the point that the crime of drunk driving is taken extremely seriously by his office. He said his staff will be on the lookout this holiday weekend, as well as year-round, for anyone unwilling to abstain from alcohol consumption before operating a vehicle.

“We have a jail cell ready for you if … you’re too proud to have a designated driver,” Garcia said. “We have plenty of designated drivers at the Harris County Sheriff’s Office to drive you to jail. And we will. Because the faces of drunk driving can’t be made any more clear than what you heard from the Pennywell family [or] from the fact the MADD had to come into existence.”

HPD Capt. Larry Baimbridge expanded upon Garcia’s remarks, elaborating on the activities of HPD traffic enforcement division officers whose sole target are drunk drivers.

“These guys are tasked with looking for, detecting and arresting drunk drivers,” Baimbridge said. “That’s their sole job, that’s their sole goal in the Houston Police Department … and they do a very good job of it. So the message here is clear: drive sober, find a safe ride home. It’s simply not worth the risk.”

Jeff Kaufman, the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s transportation program coordinator, told those in attendance how H-GAC received a step grant for smaller law enforcement agencies in the area to qualify for funding to conduct their own drunk driving enforcement efforts, a task force which Kaufman said has now grown to 15 agencies.

“As of Memorial Day weekend, we’ve conducted three waves,” Kaufman said. “This is a pilot project, this is something that hasn’t been done regionally or for the state, but we’ve made 115 arrests for suspected DWIs over these three weekends. DWI is easily avoidable, just don’t’ drink and drive. Get a designated driver, don’t overdo the celebration, just be responsible. Because it’s really not worth risking other people’s lives, it’s not worth risking time in jail.”

Though the efforts of these different agencies won’t bring back Aaron Pennywell — whose story is one of many on facesofdrunkdriving.com — his parents are hoping that by relating the senseless and tragic nature of their eldest son’s death, at least something positive will come from the abrupt end to Aaron’s life.

“Mainly it’s to tell these [people to] make choices when you are going to drink,” Kae Pennywell told Houston Community Newspapers. “Get a cab, call a friend to come pick you up, sleep it off, have a designated driver.


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Source: The Rancher (Haverkamp, 7/2)

Victim of DWI accident shakes hands of officers making a difference

SMITH COUNTY, TX - On Friday, fourteen East Texans were awarded for their dedication to putting an end to drunk driving in Smith County.

The award ceremony took place at the Holiday Inn off of South Broadway in Tyler.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving of East Texas handed out five different types of awards: judiciary and prosecutorial service, leadership, DWI education and outstanding service.

At the end of the banquet, Amie Jo Robinson shook the hands of law enforcement officers recognized for their commitment to the fight against drunk driving.

In 2000, Robinson said she and her two-and-half year old daughter were hit by a drunk driver in Gladewater.

"She passed away while I was holding her. My daughter ShiAnn. That wasn't fair, basically. So, if we can stop it then that's a good thing," Robinson said.

Among those officers was Sergeant Blake Lockhart with the Tyler Police Department, awarded by MADD for his leadership in the county.

He said he cannot begin to count how many people he knows who have been affected by drunk driving.

"No, I couldn't even begin to estimate. It's something that's so preventable and that's why we need to work harder to tackle the issue," Sergeant Lockhart explained.

And as law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges work diligently to take unsafe drivers off the streets, these mothers work to get through each day.

For Robinson, part of that healing process was visiting the man who took the life of her little girl.

"I actually visited him last summer in the prison and he, for the first time, he said he was sorry and I forgave him," Robinson said.

With a holiday along with "No Refusal" weekend right around the corner, Sergeant Lockhart wants to remind drivers of one thing.

"The worst thing that can happen if you drink and drive is not that you get a DWI, the worst thing that can happen is not that you kill yourself, the worst thing that can happen is that you kill a family of four and you live," he said.

Several East Texas police departments have declared this July 4th, a "No Refusal" holiday. That means, if you are stopped for drunk driving and refuse to provide a blood sample or breathe sample, an immediate search warrant will be sought and a blood sample will be obtained through that warrant.

For participating departments, "No Refusal" will run through July 6th.

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Source: KLTV (Sanders, 6/28)

Texas DA convicted of DWI not tied to hit-and-run

AUSTIN, Texas- Investigators have concluded there is no evidence tying a Central Texas prosecutor convicted of driving while intoxicated to a hit-and-run accident that happened on the same night she was arrested.

Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg was arrested April 12 following a report of a vehicle swerving in traffic. Her blood-alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit for driving. She pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated and served about half of a 45-day jail sentence.

The night she was arrested, Jeff Van Gorp reported that an SUV had clipped the side of his car, popped his tire and damaged the fender before driving away. Lehmberg was driving a Lexus four-door sedan. Van Gorp in later statements said it could have been a Lexus.

But the Austin American-Statesman reported that the Travis County sheriff's office has ended its investigation in the case after concluding Lehmberg could not have hit Van Gorp's car.

"There is no way her car could have jumped high enough to put the damage on the other car," said sheriff's office spokesman Roger Wade.

Senior Deputy Paul Cossette, who investigated the collision, wrote in an email to the newspaper that several factors led officials to come to that conclusion, including damage to Lehmberg's car not matching the height of damage to Van Gorp's car and no paint transfer on either vehicle that would suggest they came in contact with each other.

Lehmberg's claim that she scraped the rock wall in front of her home seems to match the damage on her car, Cossette said.

Lehmberg has faced mounting pressure to quit since her arrest. Gov. Rick Perry on Friday vetoed funding for the state's Public Integrity Unit overseen by Lehmberg because of her refusal to step down.
Rick Reed, an attorney behind one of the efforts to oust Lehmberg from office, initially claimed in court filings that Van Gorp called 911 after the collision to report that "his vehicle was struck by an oncoming silver-colored Lexus" with a license plate that matched Lehmberg's.

However, in the 911 call the Travis County sheriff's office released Wednesday, Van Gorp is recorded saying that a newer, midsize SUV hit his car.

"If the Sheriff's Office expects the citizens of Travis County to give any credence to Deputy Cossette's findings and conclusions it should release all records relating to his investigation immediately, if it has not already done so," Reed said.

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Source: KRGV (AP, 6/15)

First-time DWI arrests increase Memorial Day weekend

Arrests for first-time DWI offenders were up more than 41 percent during this year’s Memorial Day weekend, according to Midland County Sheriff’s Office arrest records.

There were 18 DWI arrests between Friday and Monday — the same number of arrests in 2012 during the holiday’s four-day weekend time frame, according to the records.

Of this year’s arrests, 17 were first-time offenders, five more than last year. Fifteen DWIs were Class B misdemeanors, an 87.50 percent increase. There weren’t any second- or third-time offenders this Memorial Day weekend.

Public intoxication arrests also were up by 20 percent with 24 charges, four more than the holiday weekend in 2012.

This past weekend also saw one arrest for intoxicated manslaughter when a San Angelo man struck a motorcyclist Saturday night and fled the scene on foot, according to previous Reporter-Telegram articles.

Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter said he attributes the increase in arrests of first-time offenders to a greater law enforcement presence on the roadways.

He said that during this year’s Crude Fest, the Sheriff’s Office made more arrests related to alcohol, which prompted increased enforcement during the Memorial Day weekend, when many people were expected to be consuming alcohol.

The Midland Police Department has made 240 DWI arrests through May 20 of this year, according to Sara Higgins, the city’s public information officer. She said it’s not surprising to see an increase in DWI arrests with the city’s rapidly growing population.

The law enforcement increase comes in the wake of a “drastic” rise in alcohol-related accidents, Painter said.

In the past three fatal crashes in Midland County, the drivers all were under the influence of alcohol, according to Reporter-Telegram records. With the National Transportation Safety Board’s recent recommendation to lower the legal blood alcohol content limit from 0.08 to 0.05, Painter said the legal limit should be even lower.

“I want to see the legal limit lowered to 0.02,” he said.

Painter said people should not be drinking and driving, regardless of how much alcohol they have consumed. He said with less restrictive alcohol laws, people frequently will take advantage of the law.

“If you give them a foot, they’re going to take a mile,” he said.

Painter said the best and safest place to consume alcohol is at home or a place where a person can stay and not get back on the roadways. Memorial Day Weekend 2013 Statistics

First-time offenders: 17 (41.67 percent more than 2012)

Open container of alcohol: 1 (one more than 2012)

Public intoxication: 24 (four more than 2012)

DWI: 15 (87.50 percent more than 2012)

2nd DWI : 0 (three fewer than 2012)

3rd DWI: 0 (three fewer than 2012)

DWI open alcohol container: 2 (one more than 2012)

2nd DWI open alcohol container: 0 (one fewer than 2012)

DWI with child under 15 years of age: 0 (one fewer than 2012)

Minor in possession of alcohol: 0 (two fewer than 2012)

Intoxicated manslaughter: 1 (one more than 2012)

DWI with a BAC >= 0.15: 0 (one fewer than 2012)

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Source: My west Texas (White, 5/28)

Texas senator says 0.05 blood alcohol limit ‘not realistic’

Don’t expect Texas’ legal blood alcohol limit for drunken driving to fall to 0.05, at least not while state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, is still running the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.

“It’s just not realistic, if you’re going to drink at all,” said Whitmire, who was chairing that same committee in 1999 when Texas joined a nationwide movement and lowered the limit from 0.1 to the current 0.08. A woman weighing 120 pounds or less can reach a 0.05 blood alcohol limit with just one drink, studies show.

Meanwhile, the Texas office of Mothers Against Drunk Driving said a 0.05 limit would save lives in the long run.

The National Transportation Safety Board staff recommended the lower threshold as one of several recommendations aimed at reducing drunken driving.

Angela Tidwell, law enforcement program specialist for the Texas office of MADD, said the recommendation isn’t aimed at stripping people of their right to drink.

“We’re not trying to be prohibitionists,” she said. “We just want everyone to get home safe.”

Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said in a statement Tuesday the idea was worth exploring, but he stopped short of endorsing it.

“APD is aware that this issue is being discussed at the national level,” Acevedo said. “It is a standard that has been adopted in other Western nations and an issue worthy of robust exploration and debate.”

Whitmire said that those campaigning in 1999 for the 0.08 blood alcohol content threshold said that would be as low a limit as they would seek. The lobbyist for MADD, Whitmire said, told him “you’re not going to see us again on this.”

What needs to happen, he said, is more education about the dangers of driving while intoxicated, and encouragement for people to use a designated driver. Whitmire said, only half-jokingly, that setting the limit at 0.05 would have the effect of criminalizing mouthwash.


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Source: Austin American-Stateman (Chang, 5/14)

Court Finds Breath Mints Are Evidence Of DUI

Use of breath mints can be considered evidence a driver is intoxicated, according to a divided Texas Court of Appeals ruling delivered earlier this month. The three-judge panel made the decision in the case of limousine service driver Robert Richardson who was stopped in Lewisville, Texas on August 25, 2010 while transporting customers from the airport.

Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Fulford was about to issue a speeding ticket to a motorcycle on Interstate 35E when he noticed Richardson's Chevy Tahoe change lanes without signaling, almost hitting the motorcycle. Trooper Fulford was concerned primarily about the bad driving, but in the back of his mind he thought it could also be a case of driving under the influence (DUI). Once stopped, there was a mild odor of alcohol in the Tahoe, the passengers denied drinking, and Richardson was nervous. Trooper Fulford told Richardson he would write him a warning for his failure to signal before changing lanes. When he returned from his squad car with a warning notice in hand, Trooper Fulford said he noted an "overwhelming" odor of breath mints.

"Did you just take a breath mint?" Trooper Fulford asked.

When Richardson said yes, he was ordered out of the Tahoe. From there, he was arrested and convicted of DUI. Richardson appealed, arguing the traffic stop was complete after the trooper handed him back his driver's license with a warning, and that anything that happened beyond that point amounted to an illegal detention. The Texas judges acknowledged the principle that once a traffic stop concludes, it should not be used as a fishing expedition for unrelated criminal activity. The court had to decide whether the use of breath mints constituted a specific articulable fact suggesting another crime had been committed beyond the bad lane change.

The appellate judges agreed with the trial court that all of the clues Trooper Fulford picked up on prior to smelling the breath mints combined to provide the suspicion needed to make the search reasonable and consistent with the Fourth Amendment.

"These facts, which Trooper Fulford identified during his testimony at the suppression hearing, were sufficient to provide him with reasonable suspicion that Richardson had been driving while intoxicated," Justice Anne Gardner ruled for the court. "We overrule Richardson's sole point. Having overruled Richardson's sole point, we affirm the trial court's judgment."

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Source: The News Paper (AP, 4/18)

More DPS workers testing blood to ease backlog

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Department of Public Safety has reassigned about 15 crime lab workers to blood testing to help trim a backlog in drunken driving cases.

The Austin American-Statesman and KVUE-TV reported Thursday that the number of blood samples sent to DPS rose 500 percent in six years as police increasingly use such evidence in DWI cases.

DPS increased the number of blood testing analysts by 20 percent by temporarily moving employees from areas without as many samples. Spokesman Tom Vinger says DPS in 2009 added nine blood testing positions but no additional workers in 2011 due to state budget constraints.

Sen. John Whitmire of Houston, who chairs the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, says it's a glaring example of not having enough resources to do the job.

Legislators convene in January.

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Source: Lubbock Avalanche Journal (AP, 12/7)

Man accused of driving wrong way on I-20 charged with intoxication manslaughter

A man involved in a fatal car accident Friday was arrested late last week by the Texas Department of Public Safety for intoxication manslaughter, said a spokesman for the agency.

Gustavo Cervantes, 36, of Wichita Falls, was driving a 2002 Dodge Ram eastbound in the westbound passing lane of Interstate 20 at 2:40 a.m. Friday, said Sparky Dean, DPS spokesman. His vehicle collided nine miles west of Sweetwater with a vehicle driven by Cory Lynn Carlile, 41, of Rowlett.

Carlile was pronounced dead at the scene.

Cervantes was taken to Hendrick Medical Center on Friday with "incapacitating injuries" but was released later that day; afterward he was arrested and charged, Dean said.

Cervantes posted a bond of $20,000 and was released from the Nolan County Jail.

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Source: Reporter News (Collins, 11/28)