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News from the North East
Please select a state from the list below or find a state from another region of the US. You can also find traffic safety statistics from these states from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration



Connecticut

August 22, 2008

Optometrist Recognized For Attending Drug Impaired Driving Conference

Read more about the Newsmaker of the Day from the Norwich Bulletin

About the conference: It furthers the training of police personnel and other professionals in detecting drivers who are impaired because of drugs — including alcohol. Eye movement can detect certain drug use, Pannone said. The program was born out of frustration when impaired drivers were pulled over, but would test at the legal limit for alcohol consumption.


January 30, 2008

Gov. M. Jodi Rell Issues New Impaired Driving Recommendations from the Task Force

Read all about it in the Westport News

Teenagers are notorious for testing their limitations. They're constantly experimenting in virtually every facet of their lives, from drugs to relationships to work ethic. Driving is just another experimental front. How fast is too fast? How close is too close? How important is it to save a few minutes getting to my destination? How many people can I fit into my Toyota Prius? Unfortunately teen drivers sometimes find answers the hard way.


December 7, 2007

Police Watching for Drunk and Drugged Drivers over the Holidays

Read the story from the Stamford Times

Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced last Thursday, is Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month in the state of Connecticut.According to Rell, who announced a task force devoted to safe teen driving on the same day, alcohol and drug-impaired driving remain one of the most critical highway safety problems in Connecticut.


December 1, 2007

Traffic Stop Turns Drug Bust

Read this article in the Hartford Courant

A local man was taken into custody over the weekend after an early-morning traffic stop turned into a drug bust, police said.David Wadsworth, 36, was charged with reckless driving, driving while under the influence, possession of marijuana, cocaine and crack cocaine, operating a drug factory and other charges after the motor vehicle stop at about 2:40 a.m. Sunday, said Capt. Chester DeGray.


October 5, 2007

High Mom, Endangers child in back seat

Read the article from TheDay.com

State police arrested a Norwich woman who they said was smoking pot as she drove along the highway.
Police said Kelly Patterson was observed traveling on Interstate 395 smoking marijuana while a 2-year-old sat in the back seat.


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Maine

News To Come
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Massachusetts

August 9, 2008

High Drug Dealer Runs Red Light, Goes to Jail

Read this news in Wicked Local

During a search of Fletcher’s car, police discovered a bag of marijuana in the driver’s side door compartment, a digital scale and plastic bags used to package marijuana. Fletcher allegedly admitted to having more marijuana tucked in his shoe.


June 12, 2008

Mom on Pills Crashes Car, Endangering Daughter

Read this story in the Eagle Tribune

Melody Nieves, of 31 Calumet Road, was identified as the driver. She was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, drinking alcohol from an open container in a vehicle and driving without a license.


April 11, 2008

Drugged Up Driver With Kid in Car Slams Into Minivan

Read all about it in the Eagle Tribune

A Kingston man was driving under the influence of drugs with his 5-year-old daughter in the car when he rear-ended a minivan and rolled over on Interstate 95 in Newburyport, Mass., yesterday, police said.


February 27, 2008

MADD Honors Drug Recognition Expert, "Everyday Hero"

Read all about it in Danvers Herald

Frost is also a certified Drug Recognition Expert, Ouellette said. That means he has had special training in recognizing the use of drugs by suspects. Other police departments sometimes call him in, Ouellette said, for help in assessing whether a suspect is impaired by drug use. An example might be if there is a severe car accident, but no physical evidence of liquor or drug use, Ouellette said.


December 11, 2007

Driver Shoots up, Passes Out, Get Charged with Driving Under the Influence of Drugs

Read the latest from the Worcester Telegram

A 23-year-old city man was arrested Saturday, after a police officer allegedly found him either falling asleep or passed out in a car in traffic with a syringe in his hand, District Court records said.


December 10, 2007

Doctor may be charged with Patient's Impaired Driving Homicide

Read the scoop from the Associated Press

A doctor who failed to warn his patient about the potential side effects of medication can be held liable for the man's car crash that killed a 10-year-old boy, the state's highest court ruled Monday in the first such decision to make doctors responsible for harm to nonpatients.


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New Hampshire

August 21, 2008

Driver Fights Allegations of Drug Abuse in Deadly Crash

Read more from the Sea Coast Online

When 6-year-old Henri Lalime was hit by a car while riding his scooter last summer, he was negligent, “violated the law” and “contributed to the accident,” according to the teenager who drove into him.
Through an attorney, driver Dylan Carter, 19, of 63 Taft Road, offers a “general denial” of allegations in a civil suit filed by Lalime’s parents. The Rockingham County Superior Court lawsuit alleges Carter was under the influence of drugs and driving recklessly on Aug. 16, 2007, when he crashed into Lalime, fracturing the boy’s skull and pelvis, putting him in a coma and leaving him with permanent disabilities.


March 13, 2008

Police, Drug Recognition Experts Urge St. Patrick's Day Party-Goers to Stay off Roads

Read this story in Foster's

Portsmouth police will be deploying additional patrol units for stepped up driving under the influence enforcement. Many of the officers will be from the department's Drug Recognition Expert Unit, specifically trained to recognize drivers impaired by either alcohol or drugs.


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New Jersey

March 28, 2008

Pulled Over for Driving Without Lights, Driver Busted for Steering Stoned

Read this story in the APP

Patrolman Chris Gibson stopped a 2002 Mercedes-Benz on Orchard Street at about 11:05 p.m. Wednesday. While Gibson was speaking with the driver -- Matthew R. Clemente, 20, of Lanes Mill Road, Howell -- the officer could smell burned marijuana, Sgt. Ronald Heinzman said today.


March 19, 2008

Drugged Driving Rampage Follows Breaking and Entering for One Drug Abuser

Read this story from NJ.com

A man who allegedly used drugs before smashing windows in his landlord's home, stealing a police car and striking the officer who tried to stop him is expected to plead guilty, his attorney said Tuesday following a court appearance.


February 22, 2008

Intoxicated Driver Arrested at 2:30 PM

Read this story in the New Jersey Times

Upon approaching Stephen, police said they discovered he had been driving while intoxicated. Police said they discovered marijuana and drug paraphernalia while arresting Stephen.


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New York

August 8, 2008

Driving Under the Influence of Cough Medicine Comes Under Scrutiny After Multiple Deaths

Read this developing story in the New York Times

He was 87, but Anthony Vieiro of Yonkers still had many good years ahead of him, his grieving family and friends say, citing his vigor and exercise regimen.
They certainly never expected to lose him in a car accident last year, caused by a young driver high on over-the-counter medication containing dextromethorphan. Commonly known as DXM, the drug is found in cough suppressants like Robitussin, Sudafed and Tylenol products, and can cause hallucinations, seizures and death when taken in large quantities. Its illicit use is commonly called robotripping.


August 12, 2008

Technicality Leads to Drugged Driving Case Dismissals

Read all about it from NewsDay

A Nassau judge has dismissed charges against two people accused of driving while on drugs and declared a mistrial in a third case because the Pennsylvania lab technicians who tested samples were not brought into court to testify.
If other judges agree that the lab techs must be called as witnesses - a requirement that could cost the county thousands of dollars per case - that could create a major obstacle for prosecutors trying drugged driving cases.


August 4, 2008

Wayne County Finds Holes in Bus and Truck Driver Drug Testing Regimen

Read this news from the Wayne Times

ransportation Services (WATS) bus drivers are tested on a regular basis, but drivers transporting senior citizens in the County Aging and Youth Department programs are not.
Why are some drivers tested and others not? Under the federal and state guidelines of the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991, every person who operates a motor vehicle that weighs more than 26,000 pounds, or is designed to transport 16 (including the driver) or more passengers, or is used to transport hazardous materials which is required to be placarded, is required to have a commercial drivers license (CDL). These drivers are considered to be in "safety-sensitive" positions and must undergo random drug testing.


May 21, 2008

Extremely High Driver Kills Uncle, Throwing 4 year-old 30 Feet Through Rear Windshield

Read this story in the Daily News

A man who was high on marijuana when he crashed his Jaguar, killing his uncle and critically injuring a 4-year-old girl, has been convicted of manslaughter, the Nassau district attorney said Tuesday.


May 14, 2008

Reflecting on the Toll of Drugged Driving

Read the opinion from Newsday

And just last week, a drugged driver in a reckless run from the police slammed into the car of their middle son, Scott, killing him at age 46. Clearly our children's lives are fragile at any age.


April 16, 2008

Volunteer Responds to Brother's Fatal Crash; Drugged Driving Charges Pressed

Read more from Newsday

It was the second motorcycle fatality on Long Island in the past week. On Sunday, John Frazier, 44, of Roosevelt, was struck and killed in that community. The driver of the car, Jacqueline Harris, 41, of Roosevelt, was charged with driving while intoxicated. In the Centerport accident, police said Curry, who was charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, drifted over the double yellow center line and crashed head-on into Varese.


March 27, 2008

First Man Charged Under New Driving Under the Combined Influence of Drugs and Alcohol Law

Read all about this new precedent in the Staten Island Advance

In an apparent precedent on Staten Island, a Great Kills man has cut a plea deal under a new law that allows authorities to charge an impaired driver who has consumed alcohol and drugs, but whose blood alcohol level is not over the minimum threshold.


February 21, 2008

Repeat Drugged Driving Offender Smashes into Family, Sending Four to Hospital, One Dead

Here is the latest from NewsDay
Read the original story from NewsDay

Suffolk police said Stephen Catalano, 37, was on drugs when he crashed into a 1997 Saturn sedan Tuesday after apparently running a red light on County Road 101 in Medford at 12:18 p.m. Four young girls were seated in the Saturn's backseats.


January 9, 2008

Family of Drugged Driving Victim Sue

Read the news from NewsDay.com

Deturris remains in a Nassau jail on $10,000 bond or $5,000 cash bail. She is charged with vehicular assault and driving while impaired by alcohol and drugs. Deturris, of South Farmingdale, was previously convicted on alcohol and drug-related driving charges in 1982, 1994 and 1999.


January 4, 2008

After Flipping Car, Drugged Driver Stashes Cocaine in Cruiser

Read the story from The Journal News

A New Jersey man remained in the county jail last night following his arrest on drug charges.
Pierre Kouyoumdjian, 44, of Bloomfield Avenue in Paterson, N.J., was driving a 1996 Toyota Camry north on Route 9W in Upper Grandview at 3:20 a.m. Wednesday when he crossed the double-yellow line and hit an embankment, Orangetown police Sgt. Robert Ruggiero said.


October 30, 2007

High Driver crashes through 7-11 storefront mistakenly

Read the news from Newsday

An East Meadow woman who drove her SUV through the front window of a 7-Eleven store was arrested after police noticed she appeared to be under the influence of drugs, Nassau police said


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Rhode Island

May 6, 2008

High on Amphetamines Driver Seriously Injures Teen

Read the full article from WPRI

A woman facing charges for a car crash that seriously injured a teenager last year has failed a drug test.


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Vermont

March 12, 2008

State Senate Expands Definition of Drugged Driving

Read about this bill in the Times Argus

Lawmakers took a step Tuesday toward making it easier for police to arrest a person for driving a vehicle while under the influence of drugs.
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a new drugged driving bill in a 4-1 vote Tuesday morning, expanding the list of drugs and intoxicating substances that a person can be arrested for when driving under the influence.


December 22, 2007

Teen faces Driving Under the Influence of Drugs Charges after Swerving Stoned

Read the article in the Barre Montpelier Times Argus

An 18-year-old was arrested on Dec. 8 just before midnight by police, who allege he was driving under the influence of marijuana. Police said they stopped Jeremy Gorton after they observed his vehicle cross into an adjacent lane and over the double, yellow lines several times.


November 8, 2007

Rutland Marks National Red Ribbon Week

Read the story in the Rutland Herald

The Rutland Area Prevention Coalition thanks all our partners around Rutland County who helped in the celebration of National Red Ribbon Week (Oct. 23-31), a time set aside to stress the importance of healthy lifestyle choices, especially among youth. Anti-drunk-or-drugged-driving messages are appropriately part of this event.


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