Articles Posted in DUI/OUI Arrest

On Friday January 30, 27-year-old Steven Anderson was arrested after he allegedly drove drunk while cleaning the ice at a girl’s high school ice hockey game. According to the New York Daily News, Anderson, who was driving a Zamboni at the Fargo, ND game, was arrested at about 8:15 p.m. when fans noticed he was driving the Zamboni erratically, crashing into the boards.

The girls’ teams at Williston High and Davies High Schools were in competition when the incident occurred at the South Sports Arena. Anderson has worked part-time as a Zamboni driver for the Fargo Park District for six years. He was fired immediately, according to reports. Fargo Park District director of finance and human resources Jim Larson said that in his 25 years, he had never known of this happening. He said that there is zero tolerance for this type of behavior.

Anderson was arrested on suspicion of DUI, and booked into the Cass County Jail. If found guilty of driving under the influence, penalties for a first-time offense in ND include fines, addiction evaluation, driver’s license suspension, and possible jail time depending on whether the offender’s BAC (blood alcohol content) is below .16, or above .16.

On Saturday evening January 17, 50-year-old Linda Grace Mendoza of Santa Maria was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI. According to a news article at Noozhawk.com, Mendoza has three prior DUI convictions within the last 10 years, making this her fourth.

Officers with the Santa Maria Police Department allegedly found Mendoza behind the wheel of a vehicle that was parked; she was intoxicated, according to the officers. Lt. Dan Cohen said that Mendoza was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail, and was charged with driving with a suspended license, driving while on probation for DUI, DUI, and driving with a BAC (blood alcohol content) higher than .08%.

In California, a fourth DUI following three convictions within a 10 year period is a felony punishable by up to four years in prison, up to $1,000 in fines, driver’s license revocation for four years, and more.

On Wednesday, January 7, Tim Jennings, cornerback for the Chicago Bears, was arrested on several charges after being pulled over as he raced to a parent-teacher conference, according to a news report at USA Today.

The 31-year-old was in suburban Atlanta in the Duluth area when he was spotted by police in a 2015 Mercedes going 99 mph in a 65 mph zone of Interstate 85. Upon stopping Jennings, Gwinnett County Police Cpl. Jake Smith said that he noticed an odor of alcohol. He has been charged with speeding, reckless driving, and DUI.

When pulled over and asked why he was driving so fast, Jennings allegedly told Smith that he was late for a parent-teacher conference. Smith said that Jennings eyes were slightly watery and bloodshot. Jennings did admit that he had been drinking the evening before, but had stopped at about 2 a.m. It was just before noon when Jennings was pulled over.

On Monday January 5, 33-year-old Chad Bybee, a former agriculture teacher at Logan-Rogersville High School in Missouri, was sentenced for involuntary manslaughter in the October 2013 crash that took the life of an 84-year-old man.

According to news reports, Bybee was driving a pickup truck and had his two young daughters with him when he was driving in a westbound direction in an eastbound lane on U.S. 60 and struck William Hughes head-on. Hughes was killed in the crash; Bybee’s daughters were also injured, however whether their injuries were serious was not revealed.

Bybee’s blood alcohol content (BAC) was found to be .192 when a breathalyzer test was administered three hours after the crash occurred, which is more than twice the legal limit of .08 in Missouri.

On Sunday morning January 4, a Melrose, Massachusetts man was eventually arrested for a fifth drunken driving offense and other charges following a chase that led to the man having to be rescued from the Malden River, according to a news article at the Boston Globe.

John Kellum, the 42-year-old man who had been reported to police to be driving while intoxicated, led police on a wild chase that resulted in damage to police cruisers and parked cars before Kellum’s pickup truck eventually ended up in the river.

Melrose police spokesman John Guilfoil said that police arrived on the scene at about 1:30 in the morning; Kellum had already crashed into two vehicles parked along the street. He then allegedly rammed a police cruiser before driving off. As police officers pursued him at what they called a “safe distance,” Kellum drove his pickup truck at a police cruiser, causing it to strike a curb as the officer attempted to swerve away from the suspect’s truck; the cruiser lost a tire in the incident. According to the news article, Kellum had several flat tires during the course of the chase, but continued to drive on the rims, creating an extremely dangerous situation.

On Christmas Eve, 35-year-old Bridget Pollack, a social studies teacher at a high school in the Mahanoy Area School District, was charged with DUI, resisting arrest, driving without a valid license, and having an open container in her vehicle, according to a news article at Wnep.com.

Mahanoy City police claim in court papers that on Wednesday evening, Pollack crashed her SUV into a light pole, which resulted in the pole falling onto a home; live wires were exposed on the pole. Pollack allegedly drove away from the scene of the crash, however a witness to the incident pursued the vehicle and Pollack drove onto another street, where she pulled over on the sidewalk and stopped. This is where police found her.

When police questioned the teacher about whether she had been drinking, she reportedly replied, “I’m drunk. I’ve been drinking all day.” She then asked police if they could just let her go, because of the fact that she was a teacher and would likely lose her job. Police claim to have found a bottle of wine that was open in the SUV Pollack was driving. Her driver’s license had been expired for nearly two years.

On Sunday December 28, a South Carolina Sheriff was arrested after he allegedly struck a vehicle and left the scene of the accident at approximately 6 a.m. 63-year-old Wayne DeWitt, Sheriff of Berkeley County since 1994, is now charged with DUI and leaving the scene of a wreck involving personal injury, according to a news article at Turnto10.com. He was granted a personal recognizance bond on Sunday evening at the Hill-Finklea Detention Center.

DeWitt was driving a county-owned pickup when the crash occurred. After leaving the scene of the accident, SC Highway Patrol troopers were investigating the crash and were notified that a pickup truck matching the description of the one DeWitt had been driving was stopped by Hanahan Police. Troopers then drove to the traffic stop and determined that the truck was the one involved in the crash, and that DeWitt was the individual driving the truck.

According to SCHP Sgt. Bob Beres, DeWitt was determined to be under the influence of alcohol after performing a field sobriety test; he refused a breathalyzer after being taken to the detention center.

Kelly Meyers, principal at Oregon High School in Oregon, WI, has been placed on administrative leave after being arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol three times this month. According to news articles, Meyers has been on medical leave since the beginning of the school year, and will remain on leave as the allegations against her are investigated.

Police officials in Fitchburg and Oregon confirm that Meyers was arrested in their districts, twice in Fitchburg and once in Oregon. She had not appeared in court on the charges as of the time of news reports on December 23.

Meyers worked at Oregon High School as associate principal before being hired as principal in 2012. Prior to that, she served as principal for 14 years at Verona High School from 1994 to 2008. According to Oregon Schools Superintendent Brian Busier, she was an excellent and trusted principal. School Board president Dan Krause said that the board would make a decision as to what to do following the investigation, as they want to find out the facts of the matter.

On Tuesday, December 16, an unnamed 23-year-old Kalamazoo woman was arrested for allegedly stealing a golf cart and driving it while intoxicated. According to a news report at Fox 17, the woman’s name has not been released and will be identified pending a formal arraignment.

The woman was pulled over at about 8 in the morning when an officer noticed her driving the golf cart on Florence Street and thought it a bit odd. Public Safety Officer Ariana Gasca said that she pulled up to the cart, and the woman driving it pulled over to talk with her. The unidentified woman told Gasca that the golf cart had been given to her by a friend to drive. However, Gasca noticed items on the cart that made her suspect it belonged to a local apartment complex. Upon checking it out, the cart had in fact been stolen.

Gasca conducted a series of sobriety tests on the woman, who was ultimately charged with operating while intoxicated, driving on a suspended license, unlawfully driving away a vehicle, and obstruction by disguise. Police claim the woman also has two additional warrants out for her arrest.

On Monday morning, December 15, 51-year-old Allan Charles McTavish was stopped after a Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputy witnessed McTavish’s Chevrolet HHR run a red light, according to a news article at Tampabay.com. McTavish has been with the St. Petersburg Police Department since 1984.

Upon stopping McTavish, the deputy noticed an odor of alcohol, that McTavish’s eyes were bloodshot, and his speech slurred. When asked to get out of his vehicle, McTavish allegedly stumbled and fell against the side of his vehicle. He refused a breath and field sobriety tests, and was arrested before being taken to the county jail.

Police spokesman Mike Puetz said that until an internal investigation is completed, McTavish will remain on desk duty. The article claims that McTavish has had positive evaluations over the years he has been with the police department, and that his personnel file includes numerous thank-you notes from residents in the local area.