Alaska
August 24, 2008
Drugged Driver Kills Woman
Read the whole story at Foxnews
A driver who was under the influence of marijuana was sentenced to three years in prison for criminally negligent homicide in the death of a 53-year-old woman killed on the Seward Highway.
Timothy Wood, 33, was behind the wheel when his Chevy Blazer crossed the center line and slammed into a car driven by Diane Bahnson of Girdwood in 2005.
February 1, 2008
State Considers Making Salvia, a Hallucinogen, Illegal, in Part for Impairing Properties
Read the article in the Anchorage Daily News
Its use while driving is of particular concern, he said, but driving under the influence laws already encompass all drugs.
Senate Bill 38, introduced last January, remains in the Finance Committee. Therriault said he hopes it will be addressed this session. Last session, a similar bill never made it to the Senate floor.
November 25, 2007
Anchorage sees anomalous spike in DUI deaths
Read the report in the Anchorage Daily News
A spike in the number of traffic deaths involving alcohol or other drugs in Anchorage this year is at odds with recent trends statewide and puts the city at its highest rate of impaired road fatalities in more than 10 years, according to Anchorage police numbers.
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Arizona
August 30, 2008
Man Charged After Methadone-Impaired Accident with Car Full of Cheerleaders
Read the full story in the Verde News
Donald Kruse heads to court beginning Wednesday for trial on charges related to last September's head-on crash into a small Toyota filled with Mingus High School cheerleaders. All five girls were sent to Cottonwood, Flagstaff or Phoenix hospitals with various injuries, some very serious.
January 28, 2008
Man Charged in Drugged Driving Death, Dies of Drug Overdose Before Trial
Read the full story in the Arizona Star
A Tucson man scheduled to go to trial next week in connection with a fatal crash has died of a drug overdose, said Deputy Pima County Attorney Bruce Chalk. Travis William Mach, 44, died Jan. 20, Chalk said.
Mach was arrested in March 2007, three months after Lorrie May Shirley was killed in a head-on collision near South Houghton and East Drexel roads.
December 28, 2007
585 Killed by Drunk Drivers in Arizona this year
Read the story in Sedona Red Rock News
“Drug-impaired drivers exhibit different signals than drunk drivers,” Waak said. “It’s a separate specialty.”
One of the worst accidents in the Verde Valley was on New Year’s Eve Day three years ago when Robin Lynn Robbins of Camp Verde, driving under the influence of methamphetamine, killed the Rev. William Hutchinson and two of his sons and also Andrew Roeller, all of Cottonwood.
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California
August 15, 2008
Craig Robinson, Pineapple Express Actor, Busted For Drugged Driving
Read the article from MTV.com
Up-and-coming comic actor Craig Robinson was arrested June 29 in Culver City, California, and charged with three felony drug counts, according to TMZ.com. The charges include possession of MDMA (commonly known by its street name, ecstasy); possession of methamphetamine; and being under the influence of cocaine, amphetamines and cannabinoids (most likely marijuana, although possibly other medications).
August 9, 2008
Driver's Drug Use Focus of Police Investigation
Read the story from the Press Democrat
Law enforcement officers testified Friday that a man charged in the deaths of five members of a family in a crash on Highway 101 last year had no alcohol in his system, but may have been under the influence of marijuana at the time of the collision.
August 12, 2008
National Institute of Health Releases Guidelines for Drugged Driving Research
Read this story from the L.A. Times
Now, the National Institutes of Health has released research guidelines aimed at coming up with tests for drug abuse that are as quick and simple as using a Breathalyzer to test for alcohol use.
May 6, 2008
Much Needed Drug Recognition Experts in Training
Read the article from the OC Register
At the same time, drug-only and drug/alcohol DUIs continue to plague the criminal justice system and roads, leaving a costly path of death and destruction with few men and women trained to combat it. Drugs other than alcohol were found in 18 percent of drivers in nearly 2,000 fatal crashes, according to a 1991 study by the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration. Driving under the influence of drugs is on the rise, and when coupled with alcohol, the results can be tragic.
March 2, 2008
Nick Nolte, Recently Caught Drugged Driving, Speaks Out About Inner Daemons
Read all about it in the Times Online
His most famous picture of late is not a film but a mugshot taken after he was caught driving under the influence of the drug GHB in Malibu, California, where he lives.
February 23, 2008
Meth-Fueled Driver Slays Sacramento Student, Gets 15 to Life
Read this story in the San Mateo Daily Journal
The intoxicated driver who killed a 19-year-old college student during a 2005 highway crash was sentenced Friday to 35 years to life in prison but still faces more time if convicted of fighting jail officers who saw him trying to flush prescription drugs down his cell toilet.
February 26, 2008
Mischa Barton Charged with Driving Under the Influence of Drugs
Read the Celebrity Gossip from TMZ
TMZ has learned the L.A. District Attorney is charging Mischa Barton with four misdemeanor counts: driving under the influence, driving with a blood alcohol level of .08% or higher, driving without a license and possession of marijuana (under an ounce) -- all stemming from her December 27 arrest.
Januray 15, 2008
Sacramento Considers "Zero Tolerance" Drugged Driving Bill
Learn more in MyDesert.com
The so-called ``drugged driving'' bill, AB 1215, would amend California law to specifically prohibit a person from driving with ``a measurable amount'' of cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, LSD, methamphetamine, non-prescription morphine or
PCP in his blood.
December 19, 2007
Night at the Slots ends in Tragedy for Two Families Killed by Meth-Head Driver
Read this story by the Union-Tribune
The California Highway Patrol says Boles was driving, while drunk and high on methamphetamine, just before midnight Friday on state Route 76 east of Pala when the sport utility vehicle he was driving crossed the center line and hit a Toyota Camry head-on.
December 12, 2007
Scott Weiland, Velvet Revolver Lead Singer, Rocked by Drugs, Arrested and Charged with Driving Under the Influence of Drugs in L.A.
Read the celebrity commentary from Heckler Spray
Catch up with the latest celeb gossip from MTV
According to reports, Scott Weiland has been arrested for driving under the influence of drugs after a November 21 car crash in Los Angeles. Apparently the California Highway Patrol investigating the crash noticed that Scott Weiland was acting impaired, so they attempted to take blood and urine samples from him, but he refused.
December 10, 2007
5-time Drugged Driving Offender Pleads "not guilty" to string of DUID arrests
Read this story in the Union Tribune
A Ramona woman arrested five times since May on drugged-driving charges pleaded not guilty in El Cajon Superior Court Thursday to prescription fraud and burglary.
December 7, 2007
Goodfella pleads "No Contest" to Prescription-Impaired Driving, whacking parked cars
Extra! Extra! Read all about it in E! news
Ray Liotta pleaded no contest to alcohol or drug-related reckless driving Wednesday stemming from his run-in with two parked cars earlier this year, and as a result a pending DUI charge against him was dropped.
November 29, 2007
Drugged Driver Forced to kick habit
Read the article in the Modesto Bee
A judge Wednesday sentenced a Modesto man to three years in the California Rehabilitation Center, a prison for drug addicts, so he can kick a methamphetamine habit that prompted him to cause two car crashes while speeding through Modesto, Hughson, Empire and Waterford last spring.
July 27, 2007
Another group of teens killed by Drugged Driving
Click Here for the story from the Associated Press
Four Perris High School seniors killed in a crash on Interstate 15 in Escondido while heading to a Mission Beach outing in May were under the influence of marijuana or alcohol at the time of the accident, according to the county medical examiner's office.
July 5, 2007
Al Gore III stopped at 100mph with Marijuana and Prescription Drugs in Prius
Click Here for the story from Rocky Mountain News
Al Gore's son was arrested early Wednesday on suspicion of possessing marijuana and prescription drugs after deputies pulled him over for speeding, authorities said.
Al Gore III, 24, was driving a blue Toyota Prius about 100 mph on the San Diego Freeway when he was pulled over at about 2:15 a.m., Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino said.
The deputies said they smelled marijuana and searched the car, Amormino said. They found less than an ounce of marijuana along with Xanax, Valium, Vicodin and Adderall, which is used for attention deficit disorder, he said.
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Hawaii
August 19, 2008
Bus Driver Withdraws Guilty Plea After Fatal Crash; Drugs Possibly Involved
Watch this piece from KITV
A tour bus driver in prison for killing another driver tried on Tuesday to back out of his plea agreement. Steve Oshiro claims he was not on drugs or alcohol and that police missed a chance to test him right after the accident.
March 29, 2008
Man Packing Loads of Drugs, Arrested After Fleeing From Cops in Stolen Car
Read this story in the Maui News
He said Valoroso stopped the car near West Waiko Road and started running. When police officers managed to apprehend him nearby, Valoroso struggled during the arrest, Simpson said.
He said police obtained permission to search Valoroso’s waistpack, which contained suspected methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana and prescription drugs.
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Idaho
August 8, 2008
Judge Discusses Drug Crime Rates, Trends; Sees Fewer Drugged Drivers
Read this interview from the Idaho Mountain Express
On the bright side, Elgee said, drunk or drug-impaired driving offenses are only about half of what they were in the 1990s.
"I suspect it's because baby boomers are growing older. Children of the '60s are not going to the bars and getting drunk and driving home as much. Public education is a factor. I think kids know better these days. That's gone down, and that's a good thing."
November 21, 2007
Police on the lookout for Drugged and Drunk Drivers
Watch the featured video from News Channel 6
The fear among law enforcement is that many drivers are going to be hitting the road while intoxicated or impaired. So they are stepping up enforcement as part of a nationwide effort to reduce accidents over the holidays. Drunk drivers aren't the only ones at danger when they decide to get behind the wheel.
September 18, 2007
Erratic Driver endangers lives, admits to using Marijuana
Click Here to read the full article in the Standard Journal
He said, "We got the call that this person was driving erratically on (U.S.) Highway 20. She ran off the road, took out a reflector post and came back onto the road. One of the city officers observed the vehicle in Rexburg and pulled it over. One of the deputies arrived, and the deputy and the officer found marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the car. She was taken to the Sheriff's Office, where she admitted that she had smoked marijuana earlier that day."
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New Mexico
January 7, 2007
Curry County Deputy Joins Ranks of Drug Recognition Experts
Learn more from CNJ Online
Without ever drawing a drop of blood, Curry County Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Wanzor says he can pinpoint the types of substances coursing through a person’s veins. A certified drug recognition expert, he says he can accomplish through a series of screening exercises and observation techniques what normally would require a blood sample and a laboratory.
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Oregon
April 18, 2008
Police on Lookout for Drugged Truckers After Last Trucker Check Found 10% Positive Rate
Read about this story from Oregon Live
Possibly more ominous is an apparent drug problem among some commercial drivers. Police estimate that as many as 10 percent have controlled substances in their systems. "Marijuana and methamphetamines are what we see most, and prescription drugs," Hageman said.
In all, police cited five people for driving while under the influence of alcohol or intoxicants by noon Thursday. Three were commercial drivers and two were in autos. During a similar truck check at Farewell Bend last September, 468 commercial drivers provided voluntary urine samples. Tests found 8.7 percent tested positive for at least one drug.
April 3, 2008
Local Drug Recognition Expert Receives Statewide Award for Drug Enforcement
Watch this news from KCBY 11
For the second time in the past three years, a local Oregon State Police trooper is recognized for his commitment to drug enforcement. Dunlap has been a certified Drug Recognition Expert since 2002 and is trained to detect, apprehend, and assist in prosecuting drug-impaired drivers in the community.
March 17, 2008
Anesthesiologist Gets Two Years for Driving on Cocktail of Drugs into Family
Read about the proceedings from the Oregonian
A West Linn dental anesthesiologist who plowed his minivan into a family of three last August while high on a cocktail of drugs was sentenced to prison today.
December 14, 2007
Impaired Driving Display Warns of Dangers
Read about this event in the newsreview
Organizers say they want to raise awareness and discourage people to drive while drunk or hampered by drugs.
November 5, 2007
Overzealous Officer arrests innocent for DUI drugs
Read this story in the Corvallis Gazette-Times
The ongoing investigation into Corvallis Police Officer Dave Cox at least in part concerns the DUII arrest earlier this year of a Corvallis man who was completely sober.Cox has been on administrative leave since Sept.14 while the department investigates potential policy violations, according to Lt. Dave Henslee. The department has remained silent about the specific reasons for the investigation, but
Henslee confirmed that one factor was Cox’s arrest of a man whose blood alcohol level proved to be 0.00 percent and who also tested negative for drugs.
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Utah
March 28, 2008
Drugged Driver, Killer of Two in Horrific Crash, Sentenced to 15 Years
Read this story in the Desert News
Snyder may have had a harsh and deprived childhood, they said, but that was no excuse for hiding from federal parole officers, stealing a truck, buying a sawed-off shotgun and bullets, getting high on liquor and meth and then racing away from a police officer, only to crash into two innocent people.
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Washington
August11, 2008
Police Crack Down on Drugged and Drunk Drivers
Read all about it in PNW Local News
“Drunk or drugged driving remains the leading cause of death in traffic crashes," said Lowell Porter, director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. "These preventable crashes can be eliminated if everyone works to become a part of the solution.”
April 9, 2008
KINK Radio Host Ambien-Impaired Driving Trial Ends in Hung Jury
Read the news from Oregon Live
At the end of a two-day trial, Clackamas County jurors remained divided Tuesday in the case of Les Sarnoff, a KINK-FM morning show host accused of driving last August under the influence of Ambien, a prescription sleep aid.
March 11, 2008
Former D.C. Toxicologist Takes Over State Lab
Read the news in the Seattle pi
She studied drug-impaired driving and date-rape drugs as a senior fellow there between 1998 and 2001. Couper was then hired to resurrect the toxicology lab in Washington, D.C., where a lack of funding and other problems had closed it in 1996.
February 20, 2008
Interview with a Drug Recognition Expert
Read the full interview in the Central Kitsap Reporter
Q: Why did you decide to become a DRE?
A: I wanted to do it because I arrest a lot of DUIs and sometimes we wouldn’t have a lot of DREs available and I thought it’d be easier if I became one. I mainly just wanted to have another DRE out here. It’s kind of interesting to put those things together and figure out what’s going on.
January 27 ,2008
Bill to Standardize Drug and Alcohol Assessment for DUI Offenders Languishes
Read the story in the Herald
HB 1340 would change that by standardizing DUI assessments. A defendant's word would no longer be enough. A urine screening for other drugs would be required, because research shows that more than half of drunk-driving defendants also have other drugs in their system. A criminal background history would also be provided, so patterns of addictive and/or criminal behavior can be spotted, increasing the chances of effective treatment.
October 23, 2007
Child phones Police on Impaired mother, fears for safety
Read the news in the Columbian
A Vancouver mother appeared in court Monday, two days after her son called 911 from her car twice and asked for help because he was scared by his mother's driving.
"I don't know if she knows where she's going," the boy told a dispatcher.
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Nevada
February 8, 2008
Heidi Fleiss, Madam to the Stars, Arrested for Prescription-Drug Driving
Read the story in the Celebrity Truth
Former Hollywood madam to the stars, Heidi Fleiss, has been arrested for driving under the influence of drugs in Nevada, after authorities pulled her over on suspicion of being a drunk driver.
December 4, 2007
Saturation Patrols Target Drugged Up Holiday Drivers
Read the story from Las Vegas Now
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officers will also be talking about drunk and drugged driving awareness tonight during their first Tuesday meetings.
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