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Recent Blog Posts
Woman Arrested for DUI After Wrong-Way Crash on I-94
A woman was arrested for DUI in north suburban Skokie after driving the wrong way on I-94 and crashing her vehicle at around 2:05am, according to Chicago CBS Local. Illinois State Police Sgt. George Jimenez told CBS Local that after the woman crashed her vehicle she must have "gotten turned around," and "began driving north in the southbound lanes." She eventually turned the vehicle around and was driving the correct direction in the southbound lanes, but was pulled over when she exited the expressway. "The female, who was the only occupant of the vehicle, suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene," reports Chicago CBS Local.
According to a publication from the Illinois Center for Transportation, there were 217 wrong way crashes on Illinois freeways between 2004 and 2009. These resulted in 44 deaths and 248 injuries. More than 50 percent of these incidents were caused by drivers, "confirmed to be impaired by alcohol." An additional "5 percent were impaired by drugs, and more than 3 percent had been drinking," according to the report. The number of fatalities nationwide resulting from wrong-way crashes also remains disproportionately high—in 2009, there were more than 900 fatalities caused by wrong-way crashes, as opposed to 420 fatalities on average per year.
Kerry Kennedy Found Not Guilty of DUI
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School Superintendent Could Lose Job Over DUI Arrest
The superintendent of Schaumburg schools was arrested for a DUI in February and plead guilty in early March to a reckless driving charge, according to the Chicago Tribune. Andrew DuRoss was dining at a restaurant and called the authorities to report a missing purse from his table. When the authorities arrived DuRoss was warned not to drive. When he was pulled over near the restaurant, "his blood alcohol level was 0.117, according to court documents," and as reported by the Chicago Tribune.
After his arrest, DuRoss received court supervision and "agreed to undergo alcohol counseling, wear an alcohol monitoring anklet for six months and pay $2,500 in fines and court costs." Because DuRoss took this part of the plea the DUI case against him was not pursued. "It’s been a humbling and very difficult experience for me and my family," DuRoss said after his hearing in court, according to the Tribune.
Diet Soda Mixed with Alcohol Increases Blood Alcohol Content More than Regular Soda
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Woman Slams into Cop Car, Charged with DUI
A 22-year-old southwest suburban woman "was charged with drunk driving after she swerved into a Hickory Hills police car that was trying to pull her over and then fled from the scene, leaving behind two officers who were injured and trapped inside their squad car," according to the Chicago Tribune. One of the officers trapped in the car recognized Olivia D. Aguilar, and directed other officers to her home, a Cook County prosecutor told the Tribune. When they got there, "police tracked blood and shoeprints in the snow to Aguilar, who they reported was belligerent and seemed intoxicated," reports the Tribune.
The cruiser that the alleged intoxicated driver slammed into was fully marked. Police first began to pursue Aguilar when they attempted to stop her for driving without headlights, reports the Tribune. Instead of stopping, however, she accelerated and swerved toward them. "The officers had to be extricated from the cruiser and were hospitalized with bruising and swelling," reports the Tribune. Aguilar is currently facing a slew of serious charges, including "aggravated battery, failure to stop after an injury accident, driving under the influence, failure to reduce speed, no proof of insurance, failure to give aid, no headlights, and driving with a suspended license."
Illinois Has Second Highest Number of Criminal Exonerations in 2013
According to a report from the National Registry of Exonerations, last year, Illinois was the number two state in the nation which exonerated people who were wrongfully convicted of crimes. In 2013, the state exonerated 9 people, officially vindicated of the crimes for which they were convicted. Some of those who had been convicted had been in prison for decades for crimes they had never committed.
The number one state with the most exonerations in 2013 was Texas, with 13 people absolved of their criminal convictions. New York followed with 8, California with 6, Michigan and Missouri were tied with 5. According to the registry, there have been 1,304 exonerations nationally since 1989.
One third of the total number of exonerated cases was for crimes that didn’t actually happen. Almost half of these were for non-violent crimes.
The racial/ethical breakdown was as follows: 47 percent of those exonerated were black, 40 percent were white, 11 percent were Hispanic and 2 percent were Native American or Asian. Ninety-two percent were men and eight percent were women.
Eleven percent of those exonerated had pled guilty before trial. Eighty-one percent were convicted by a jury and seven percent convicted by a judge. One percent was unknown.
The total number for 2013 was 87, which was the highest year ever. However, the percentage of those exonerations based on DNA evidence dropped. A spokesperson from the registry said this decrease is a good indicator of the increasing number of convictions that are being granted that are for crimes other than murder and sexual assault.
Can Police Search Your Cell Phone Without a Warrant?
The Supreme Court recently announced that it will be deciding whether or not law enforcement are required to get a warrant to search a cell phone that is seized during an arrest.
Police and prosecutors argue that cell phones fall into the same category as other items found on someone being taken into custody that the judicial system has agreed can be searched.
But those against allowing the searches say that information that people store in their cell phones is information that in the past would be kept in a person’s home and would otherwise require a warrant. Items such as photographs, written messages (emails and text messages), videos, voicemail, contacts, web history (including search and browsing), calendar appointments, personal records (medical and financial) and purchases, can all now be found on a person’s cell phone.
NHTSA and MADD Push for Ignition Interlocks for First DUI Offense
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) have joined forces to push for the requirement of first time drunk driving offenders to use ignition interlocks that would stop the offenders from being able to start the vehicle if they had been drinking. Both organizations are urging all states to adopt that requirement.
Currently, twenty states and four counties in California have adopted the requirement of ignition interlocks for drivers who have been convicted of driving under the influence. In Illinois, an ignition interlock is only required for drivers who have requested permission for a restricted license, while still under suspension. It is also required for individuals who have multiple DUI convictions.
When an ignition interlock has been installed in a car, a driver has to blow into the device in order to give a breath sample. If the device reads a blood alcohol content of .05 or higher, the vehicle will not start. If the reading is negative for alcohol, the vehicle will start up. While the vehicle is in operation, the driver is required to provide random readings to ensure the driver’s blood alcohol level is still negative.
Ban on Social Network Sites Upheld by Court
An appeals court in New Jersey recently upheld the ban that prohibits paroled sex offenders from being able to utilize social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The decision was made by three judges in response to a challenge of the ban by two paroled offenders. The offenders argued to the court the ban, which was passed last year, was too broad and also claimed it was a violation of their free speech.
The three judges agreed that social network sites have become an integral part of society, however, they ruled that the courts had legitimate reasons for keeping these offenders off the sites. The panel cited a 1995 New Jersey Supreme Court case which found that sex offenders are more likely to repeat a crime than other types of offenders.
Wrong-Way Driver Charged With DUI
Gilberto Vanegas, 62, of Chicago was "charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, traveling in the wrong direction and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident," according to a police press release and as reported by the Chicago Tribune. Vanegas was apprehended in a 2007 Chrysler minivan on I-90 after his van stopped just short of an Illinois Department of Transportation snowplow. If the snowplow hadn’t been out on the road it’s likely that Vanegas wouldn’t have slowed or stopped at all. His minivan did strike a retaining wall several times before coming to a stop, however, according to the Chicago Tribune.
According to a publication issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), "wrong-way collisions," such as one Vanegas could have caused if he hadn’t been stopped by the snow plow, "account for only about 3 percent of accidents on high-speed divided highways, but they are much more likely to result in fatal and serious injuries than are other types of highway accidents." One study conducted by the Virginia Department of Transportation found that the fatality rate for wrong-way collisions is up to 27 times higher than other types of accidents.
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