June 2011 Archives

Local police are investigating a school bus accident in Bensalem between a township school bus and a stopped car to see if alcohol played a role in the crash.

The accident occurred on June 15th and involved an empty school bus with no children aboard and a stopped vehicle. No one was injured in the accident, but Bensalem police say that the bus driver exhibited signs of intoxication reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

According to the Inquirer, the bus driver was taken for a blood-alcolol test to determine the amount, if any, of alcohol in his system. The results of the test have not yet been released.

It is now reported that Jackass star Ryan Dunn's blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit when he died in a fiery car accident in Chester County earlier this week. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Dunn had a blood alcohol level of 0.196. The legal limit in Pennsylvania is 0.08.

According to the Inquirer, Dunn was driving drunk at more than 130 miles per hour in his Porsche, along with passenger Zachary Hartwell, when he lost control of the car, swerved off the road, and hit several trees. The impact of the crash caused his car to explode.

Jackass start Ryan Dunn died in a car accident in Chester County early Monday morning. Dunn, who appeared in all three of the Jackass movies, was 34 years old. A yet unidentified person also died in the crash.

TMZ reports that Dunn was the driver of his Porsche 911 GT3 and that speed may have been a contributing factor in the accident. TMZ is also reporting that hours before the deadly crash, Dunn posted a photo of himself drinking with friends on Twitter. The photo purportedly shows a group of men drinking on "Sunday Night."

Pennsylvania State Police recently conducted a DUI checkpoint along Route 413 in Bucks County that resulted in 61 arrests, citations, and written warnings. The Trentonian reports that State Police stopped 152 vehicles checking for facts and behaviors normally associated with alcohol and drug use. The police made four DUI arrests, handed out 40 traffic citations, and gave 17 written warnings.

Police often use DUI checkpoints to stop and discourage drunk driving. These checkpoints are essentially police roadblocks where police will stop motorists and look for signs of impairment like alcohol on the breath, bloodshot and watery eyes, and slurred speech.

James Aiello, of Philadelphia, faces DUI charges after a traffic stop at Ridge Pike and Joshua Road. According to the Montgomery Media, Aiello, 66, showed signs of intoxication, failed several field sobriety tests, and was arrested for suspected DUI. At the time of arrest, police also allegedly found a small bag of cocaine in Aiello's possession.

For alcohol-related DUIs, Pennsylvania has a three-tier penalty system that sets the punishment according to the driver's blood alcohol content (BAC) at the time of arrest. For example, someone arrested for a general impairment DUI (.08 to 0.099% BAC) faces lesser penalties than someone arrested for a High BAC DUI (.10 to .159% BAC).

Pennsylvania State Representative John Galloway was recently arrested for driving under the influence in Harrisburg. The Bucks County representative was pulled over in the early morning hours after police spotted him driving erratically, running a stop sign, and not using his turn signals, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Galloway is just the most recent State lawmaker to be arrested for a DUI. Last month, Representative Cherelle Parker of Philadelphia was arrested for a DUI after driving the wrong way on a one-way street.

Yassir Mustafa Hassan who was charged with driving his ice cream truck drunk down a suburban Philadelphia highway has waived his rights to a preliminary hearing and will likely enter a first-time offender program. Last month, Hassan was charged with a DUI and disregarding traffic lane laws while driving his ice cream truck down Route 1 reports phillyBurbs.com.

The circumstances of Yassir Hassan's arrest made national headlines not just because he was swerving down the highway in a truck with a large simulated ice cream cone on its roof, but also because it was reported that Hassan kept frozen urine and a case of wine in the truck along with the ice treats he sold to children.

At the time of arrest, Hassan had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.22. The legal limit in Pennsylvania is 0.08.

Pennsylvania State Representative Cherelle Parker, of Philadelphia, has opted for a trial for her DUI arrest. Parker’s attorney stated that they opted for a trial after noticing “some problems” with the paperwork that police filed regarding Parker’s DUI last month reports NewsWorks. The trial date has been set for July 11.

Cherelle Parker was arrested for a DUI in early May after police saw her driving the wrong way on a one-way street. Parker was taken to Philadelphia police headquarters where she took a breathalyzer test. Based on the results of the test, Parker was formally charged with driving under the influence.

The Pennsylvania State Police report that they made 357 DUI arrests over the four-day Memorial Day holiday weekend spanning Friday to Monday. And of the 808 total car crashes during the Memorial Day travel period, the State Police report that 83 were alcohol-related, including one fatal accident.

However, the actual number of DUIs in the State is likely much higher as the State Police indicated that their reported numbers only reflect DUI arrests made by the State Police and do not include arrests made by other law-enforcement agencies.