From DailyTarheel.com
For one resident, the world turned on its side Tuesday morning.
Sara Gualtieri, 60, was driving a navy 2008 Chevrolet Suburban on the corner of East Rosemary St. and Henderson St. at 11:37 a.m. when she lost control of her vehicle while attempting to text.
Lt. Kevin Gunter, spokesman for the Chapel Hill Police Department, said Gualtieri was charged with a DWI, texting while driving and reckless driving. ….MORE

From Albany Herald
AMERICUS, Ga. — A judge in Sumter County is in trouble with the law.
Southwestern Judicial Circuit Chief Superior Court Judge Rucker Smith of Americus was arrested Saturday after police charged he was driving under the influence of alcohol.
Smith, 57, was pulled over by law enforcement in Leslie for speeding. The police officer charged Smith with having open container of alcohol and driving under the influence. ….MORE

From L. A. Times
A suspected drunk driver who crashed into a car carrying four teenage girls, killing one of them, was charged Wednesday with murder, authorities said.
Austin Farley, 26, of Irvine, had been drinking at a bar and had a blood alcohol level of .20%, two and a half times the legal limit when he ran a red light and crashed into a late model Mercedes-Benz sedan driven by the father of one of the girls.
Ashton Sweet, 14, suffered irreversible brain damage in the Sunday morning crash and was pronounced dead Tuesday. The freshman cheerleader had been kept alive on a breathing machine so her organs could be evaluated for donation. ….MORE

The Memorial Day Weekend DUI crackdown has resulted in a large number of DUI arrests from local routine traffic enforcement and special Avoid the 100 DUI deployments through day three of the campaign in Los Angeles County.

From 12:01 AM Friday May 27, 2010 through Midnight Sunday, May 29, 2010 officers representing 100 county law enforcement agencies have arrested nearly 600 individuals for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In 2010, 538 DUI arrests occurred during the same time period. (**NOTE: These numbers are only provisional with some agencies yet to report**) 192

These numbers are in comparison to last years’ totals during first 3 days for the 4 day enforcement period. DUI arrest data collection will continue through midnight Monday, May 30, 2011. Law enforcement officials are continuing DUI efforts throughout the county and region. Additionally, CHP Areas throughout the state have all available officers patrolling freeways and county roads throughout the weekend.

For Memorial Day Monday, May 30th all officers will focus efforts towards the drinking driver through extra DUI saturation patrols and checkpoints in several cities around the county. Police, Sheriff and the CHP encourage all motorists to help make your community safer: Report Drunk Drivers – Call 911! Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Avoid programs, named for the number of police agencies in each county, also concentrate on the Independence Day weekend as well as the 18-Day August/Labor Day period. In recognition that summer season is among the deadliest time of the year, law enforcement agencies throughout the county will be making every effort to arrest drunk drivers before another life is lost.

From Chicago Tribune
A woman driving drunk on the Dan Ryan Expressway was picking up a chip when she lost control of her car and smashed into a guard rail, killing a baby and seriously injuring three other children, officials said today.
Joannie Pittman, 47, of the 5200 block of South Paulina Street, has been charged with aggravated DUI for an accident causing death and reckless homicide. She was ordered held on $350,000 bail today, according to Tandra Simonton, a spokeswoman for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. ….MORE

From Boston Channel
BOSTON — Ellen Engelhardt, a Massachusetts State Police trooper who was paralyzed in a drunken driver crash in 2003, has died  ….MORE

Trooper Englehardt is comforted in court as she struggled to breathe, while the young man who hit her, Willam P. Senne, is at right.  Photo courtesy of the Boston Globe.
More details of the night that drunk teen hit trooper from behind with his daddy’s car emerged in lawsuit….MORE

Statement of Colonel Marian J. McGovern on the Passing of Trooper Ellen Engelhardt

From Poughkeepsie Journal
LAGRANGE — A Poughkeepsie man will appear in court next week to answer to felony charges of drinking while intoxicated. Siraje Sekatawa, 35, was charged with three counts of felony aggravated DWI after he was stopped for speeding while driving his minivan westbound on Route 55 around 2:40 a.m.  ….MORE