Preliminary investigation indicates the driver of the motorcycle, 2014 Harley Davidson, was traveling north on Route 5 when it struck the rear of a 1996 Ford dump truck being operated by Robert Dade of Mechanicsville. The dump truck had just turned left from Thompsons Corner Road onto Route 5 when the collision occurred. The driver of the motorcycle was ejected. No other injuries were reported

08/31/2014 — Police charged an Elizabethton man with his sixth drunken driving offense after officers said he fled the scene of a hit-and-run accident.

On Friday afternoon at around 1:30, Johnson City police arrested Robert E. Winters, 51, after his car was stopped less than a mile from the site of the accident, near the intersection of North State of Franklin Road and West Market Street.

Chief Petty Officer Michael Padgett was reporting for duty, when the California Highway Patrol stopped him one mile from the Coast Guard gate at Yerba Buena Island.

In his report, the officer said he smelled a strong odor of alcohol. “And I noticed his eyes were red and watery and his speech was slurred,” the officer said. “As Padgett walked, I noticed he had an unsteady gait.”

Authorities said Padgett had a blood alcohol level of 0.18 on a breath test, more than twice the legal limit.

COLLINS, N.Y. (08/31/2014) – According to the New York State Police on August 29th Troopers working a dedicated DWI Enforcement detail arrested 51 yr. old Leroy Gates of St. Rte. 438 in Gowanda for Felony Aggravated DWI and Felony 1st degree Aggravated Unlicensed Operation, after a traffic stop on Taylor Hollow Rd in Gowanda.

But Sharp was charged in May only with driving while intoxicated and was allowed last month to plead guilty to a lesser charge — driving while ability impaired, a noncriminal violation.

He was fined $340 and paid a $260 surcharge. His license was suspended for 90 days, but he was allowed to get a conditional license so he could travel back and forth to work. He had to listen to a victims impact panel.

We hope Sharp did listen and learn from the stories of lives lost and ruined.

We hope he did not take to heart the more obvious lesson of his case: that his family connections allowed him to walk away from a serious crime with a minor punishment.

Sharp’s sentence should have been proportionate to the seriousness of the offense, and it wasn’t.

He should have been charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated and felony vehicular assault. Then, if he had been allowed to plead, he could have pleaded down to no less than driving while intoxicated, and would have faced more severe penalties, including losing his license for six months.

Sharp could have learned a different lesson: that he was going to be held responsible for his actions, despite his family ties. That would have discouraged him from further recklessness.