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Sep 04 2017

Fatal Oklahoma Homecoming Parade

DUI related crashes are not something to take lightly. They are brutal, often violent, and more often than not, fatal. Typically when alcohol or other toxins, like drugs, are mixed with driving, serious things happen. Car crashes, charges, and sometimes both happen in light of a DUI incident. When it comes to terrible accidents, the mind goes back to Oklahoma a few years back to a terrible incident that stands out in history.

It started out like any other day for the students at Oklahoma State University. It was a typical Saturday during football season, busy and full of life. It just so happened to be October 25, the day of OSU’s homecoming festivities. For many students, homecoming is an exciting day where people of all ages come together to celebrate the university and the football team.

What started out as a typical homecoming parade, ended in a tragedy that day. During the parade that morning, unsuspecting onlookers were taken off guard when a woman came crashing through an intersection that had been blocked off for the parade. She plowed into the crowd of people with her car, and the results were indescribable.

The gray car that the woman had been driving was smashed on one side, and the windshield was also shattered from the impact made. A motorcycle was crumpled and mangled after being hit by the woman’s car. There are many people injured on the scene as well, but the most haunting tragedies were the deaths that day.

Four people suffered a terrible fate when the woman sped through the crowd. There were mangled chairs, twisted blankets, water bottles everywhere, and even a broken baby stroller. The carnage was immense. The woman, who had been behind the wheel, was immediately suspected of driving under the influence. Investigators immediately tested her blood for substances, like alcohol or drugs, which might have impaired her driving.

The 25-year-old woman was arrested and remained incarcerated throughout Saturday night. Her charge? DUI. The motorcycle, which was mangled and destroyed, belonged to an officer who was working security for the parade that day. The woman struck his bike before plowing into the crowd.

The people she hit were flying in the air like a rag doll, and witnesses say they were almost thirty feet into the air on impact. Immediately, people were being treated for injuries. At least 44 different people were injured in the crash, while three adults and one boy, two years old, died. The adults passed at the scene of the horrendous crash, but the little boy died later from sustained injuries. Many of the injuries were critical.

At first, many of the news media though the crash was part of the parade. However, that view soon changed the look of panic on so many people’s faces came into view. The incident sparked a homicide investigation on the woman as well since she was responsible for so many people’s death that day.

Her father had a few things to say on the matter at hand that almost seem shocking in light of the events surrounding the crash. He claims that the woman, his daughter, has always been a timid person. She wasn’t an alcoholic, and she had even attended the homecoming festivities that Friday night. According to her boyfriend, she was home by 10 p.m. that night, but her actions seem to prove something different. Her father was afraid that the media would paint her to be a bad person, but the accident, which did involve alcohol, stands to reason.

The President of the University considered canceling the homecoming game against Kansas. However, they continued as scheduled. The university added a moment of silence before kickoff to help honor and remember those who had been a victim of the nasty crash only hours before. Many of the OSU players knelt down on the sidelines in a silent prayer of their own.

Many of the fans who attended the game that day were forced with the task of walking past that intersection to get to the stadium since the intersection was less than three blocks away. Many National Guard troops remained to keep watch while Red Cross officials and the Medical examiner’s office continued the cleanup and reporting tasks at hand.

Saturday evening left a somewhat clean intersection again, leaving the tragic event somewhat in the past. Though there were many hurts, many survived the horrible crash. For those who didn’t, the families suffered the losses greatly. The woman, responsible for the crash, has spent time in incarceration for her actions. This event will go down in history in the state of Oklahoma as one of the more tragic events.

Even though this isn’t the first tragedy to strike Oklahoma State University, it still stands as one of the worst on the list. When considering the things that are driving while intoxicated can do, it is gut wrenching and earth shattering. Not only do the drivers of these vehicles put their own life in danger, but they endanger many innocent people as well. Whether those people are driving cars or standing on the sidewalk to watch a homecoming parade doesn’t matter. What does matter is keeping the streets safe by restraining from consuming alcohol and driving.

Many states are cracking down on the DUI and DWI laws and charges. More people are being caught and punished now than ever before, and when looking back at this incident, it is no wonder. The families will suffer forever, and the woman will as well since she will always be stricken with the consequences of her reckless actions.

It is important to remember never to drink and drive. If you have been drinking, you should relinquish your keys or your right to drive. Find a ride, grab a cab, or find an Uber to take you home. It is better to be safe than be sorry, and it is better to pay a little more for a ride home than pay for your life from a fatal crash.

Written by Carl · Categorized: DUI / DWI News · Tagged: Alcohol law, Crimes, Culture, Driving under the influence, Education, Homecoming, Oklahoma State University homecoming parade crash, Oklahoma State University?Stillwater, Traffic collision, Traffic law, Transport, Uber

May 12 2017

Questioning the Efficacy of Field Sobriety Tests

If you have been pulled over for reasonable suspicion of DUI, the law enforcement officer will most likely ask you to undergo one or several tests to determine if you are intoxicated. Most will begin with the field sobriety tests before moving on to a breathalyzer test or a blood test if your field sobriety test is positive. Law enforcement believes that these tests are good initial indicators of your blood alcohol level, and they often rely upon them as they make their reports and when they testify in court against you at a DUI hearing. Knowing more about them will help you and your attorney fight your case and get your penalty reduced or your case dismissed altogether.

There are three main parts to field sobriety tests. These tests have been around since the early 80’s after researchers from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, gave this recommendation for testing for intoxication on the road. The tests are supposed to show the difference between a blood alcohol concentration above 0.08% versus below the same level.

Upon the officer’s decision to have you perform the tests, he or she will ask you to leave your car. The first test is known as the horizontal gaze nystagmus test. This test allows the law enforcement official to test your eyes for jerking when you are gazing peripherally. There are six cues altogether that they are looking for, and the number of cues that are positive supposedly determines an approximation of your blood alcohol level. The cues include smooth eye movement, nystagmus or jerking when the eyes are at their full peripheral levels and nystagums at 45% of the periphery; the three tests are performed on each eye for a total of six cues. The NHTSA states that blood alcohol levels are greater than 0.06% if 4 to 6 cues are positive.

The second standardized test is the walk-and-turn test. During this test, you will be asked to walk heel-toe-heel-toe down a straight line. After walking a certain number of steps, you will be asked to turn and perform the same steps back down the line. You will need good coordination, attention and balance to perform the test properly. Law enforcement believes that this is a good test of a person’s divided attention levels, which are needed to drive a vehicle.

During the one-leg-stand test, you will be asked to stand on one foot with the other foot a few inches off the ground. Typically, you will be asked to count to a certain number. Officers will watch to see if you need to use your arms for balance or if you noticeably sway. Of course, having to put your foot down before the allotted time is completed is also considered a positive result.

According to the NHTSA, they believe that the results of these tests are accurate over 90% of the time. Protocol states that officers should administer a breathalyzer test or blood test on you if you fail the standardized field sobriety tests.

However, numerous law enforcement officers have their own tests that they may use as part of their field sobriety tests. For example, they may ask you to recite the alphabet, count backwards, count fingers on their hands or touch your nose with your finger while you close your eyes. It is most likely that you will be asked to perform these nonstandardized tests if you live in a state in which standardized tests only allow the officer to detain you rather than give them reason to arrest you.

If you are intoxicated, you very well may perform poorly on some or all of these tests. On the other hand, several other reasons exist beyond intoxication for poor performance on field sobriety tests. The following list shows you just a few other reasons for them.
• Medical conditions
A variety of medical conditions can limit your movements, impair your balance or destroy your normal coordination skills. Some examples include prior injuries, fused spinal discs, acute or chronic pain, brain injuries and epilepsy. In addition, numerous medications can also impair your test results.
• Obesity
Being overweight can impact how you see your feet and the road for a walk-and-turn test and can impair your sense of balance.
• Eye conditions
Poor eyesight as well as chronic conditions, such as glaucoma and cataracts, can impair your movements when walking and can give incorrect results for the horizontal gaze nystagmus test.
• Poor road surfaces
Slippery surfaces from rain, snow and ice can impact your movements once you are out of the car.
• Clothing
Certain clothing will impair your movements when walking and turning while billowing clothing can cause you to lose your balance in the wind.
• Shoes
Shoes without good rubber grips on the bottom as well as heeled shoes or wedges can cause you to slip while walking or to lose your balance.

Many attorneys today recommend refusing the field sobriety tests. Doing this will not hurt you because refusal of this battery of tests is not cause for having your license revoked such as can happen if you refuse a BAC blood test. The results of these tests will only be used by the officers as additional evidence against you. In fact, many courts have disproven the efficacy of these tests. As always, never argue with the police officer or become belligerent. Merely state politely that you refuse the test.

However, if you did agree to field sobriety tests, an attorney may be able to dispute the legality or efficacy of the results for numerous reasons. Standardized and nonstandardized field sobriety tests are fairly arbitrary assessments performed by law enforcement officers that often do not adequately portray how intoxicated you are or whether you have consumed alcohol at all. Often, your nerves alone can change your results. Request legal counsel as soon as you are arrested to see if your performance on these tests can be disproven as evidence.

Written by Carl · Categorized: DUI / DWI News · Tagged: Alcohol, Alcohol law, Blood test, Breathalyzer, Driving under the influence, Education, Field sobriety testing, Health, Nystagmus, Sobriety, Standardized test, Test

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