DUI Dishonor Roll

 

What is 3.2 deaths per 100,000?  National average for alcohol related fatal accidents

So amazingly, with as much alcohol that flowed freely over the weekend, Amherst police only made one arrest for Driving Under the Influence.

Of course maybe they were so busy doing crowd control for the THOUSANDS of migrating students in and around UMass that they did not have the time to concentrate on those potential roadway scud missiles.

Early Sunday morning (1:18 AM) police arrested UMass student Michael J. Defazio, age 21, near the VFW on Main Street, only a stone's throw from Amherst town center (and the police station).

Hopefully they still teach "learning from your mistakes" in Sport Management.

Almost exactly 12 hours later on Twitter (tweet now deleted):

In need of a road bike
— Mike DeFazio (@mikeydefaz9) September 1, 2013

DUI Dishonor Role

 

APD administers FST on Sunday 4:15 PM

Yesterday around 4:00 PM, among a swarm of returning college students, one young lady called 911 to report an "erratic driver" in a gray mini van coming towards town center from the north (Pine/Bridge streets).

The van took a left on East Pleasant Street and assumed a straight line course, although occasionally "all over the road," towards the heart of a bustling downtown Amherst.

Amherst police intercepted the vehicle at the very outskirts of town center and had her pull over in the parking lot of "The Pub," where they administered a "Field Sobriety Test".  She failed. 

Arrested for Driving Under the Influence, Operating to endanger and reckless driving:

Maria C. Domenici, 229 Leverett Rd, Shutesbury, MA, age 64

DUI Dishonor Roll

Only two Amherst DUI arrests last week.  I say "only" because that number will start to go up to the usual four or five as our sleepy little college town awakens to a massive population bulge brought on by returning staff and students to our #1 employer, UMass/Amherst. 

In this particular batch -- Nicholas Coelho, age 22 and Christopher R Getchell, age 30 -- only one of the two arrested is UMass associated; let's hope he doesn't actually drive a bus. 

Drive Hammered, Get Slammered
Click link above
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DUI Dishonor Roll

70% of 2011 fatal drunk driving incidents involved hardcore drunk drivers 

Well I guess it did not take long to make up for last week's lull, when we only had one DUI arrest.  This past week APD took four drunk drivers off the road, three of them UMass students (all males).

Ryan Micheal Holmes, age 23; Robert J Carroll, age 21, Patrick O Oyede, age 24 and our lone non-student female, Kathryn M. Denny, age 54.

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DUI Dishonor Roll

Sobering statistic:  36%  of all traffic deaths in Massachusetts are DUI-related

Since Omar Cruz, age 21, was taken off the road early Saturday at 3:29 AM -- a time when most of us are safely sleeping in bed -- and he was the only drunk driver bagged by APD this past weekend, I suppose we locals should feel somewhat relieved. 

Although I much prefer the July 4th weekend -- number one nationwide for DUI arrests -- where not a single tipsy perp was to be had within the confines of Amherst.

May be quite a while before we see a repeat of that good thing. 

DUI Dishonor Roll

 South Pleasant Street, Amherst

I sense a pattern with a lot of the DUI arrests made by Amherst Police:  the perp usually draws attention by failing to perform routine driving tasks in a routine manner:  forgetting to signal a turn or turn on headlights, driving too fast or too slow or, of course, crashing into another vehicle.

The latter is the one I'm most concerned with.  Especially in this case, as April Lachapelle was bagged a few hundred yards from my house on one of the most well-traveled roads in Amherst.

7/13 Saturday morning (1:17 AM) 365 South Pleasant Street near golf course (also known as Rt 116)

DUI Dishonor Roll

Amherst is currently on a record setting pace for DUI arrests

Despite July 4th weekend being the peak period nationwide for drunk driving arrests, Amherst had zero this past weekend, or even the entire past week.  I'll drink (coffee) to that.  

But before we get all celebratory -- and just to rule out APD may be slacking on the enforcement end -- arrests to date for the year 2013 stand at 80, or on pace for a record breaking 160-170.   

In 2011 APD arrested 144 drunk drivers; in 2012 it  had escalated to 155. At the 2012 half-way  point (6/30) arrests stood at 74 compared to today's 80.  

Unfortunately, when it comes to drunk drivers, it only takes one to unleash unforgettable devastation.

DUI Dishonor Roll

Well, at least Matthew Carini did not kill anyone ... this time.

Maroon Musket "Unsung Hero"

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DUI Dishonor Roll

 

Daniel Dodman's rolling weapon disarmed (note teenagers in close proximity)

Let me count the ways the ways this Bad Boy is an embarrassment to the human species -- that is supposedly differentiated from animals by, umm, sentient intelligence.

And Daniel S. Dodman is 21 -- old enough to die for his country -- so youth is not exactly an excuse.

The telephone pole won

Driving south (away from UMass) on Triangle Street around 6:15 PM Thursday, he sideswipes a WMECO utility pole with two large, potentially explosive transformers on top,  and completely loses control of his heavy duty Volvo.

He then crashes into a line of large landscaping boulders bordering Bertucci's Italian Restaurant, which was relatively busy at the time.

 Dodman ended up with "a piece of the Rock"

Meanwhile almost a dozen teenagers near the busy DB Mart are within 25 yards of the crash scene and provide eye witness testimony to the police.  Dodman abandons his destroyed vehicle, now leaking chemicals, and takes flight heading north.

 Dodman's vehicle hit hard enough for both airbags to deploy

Yes, the auto is registered to a Daniel Nicholas Dodman; and yes, that is the very first thing a police officer does when dealing with any sort of "motor vehicle stop."

Dodman did not get very far from accident scene

APD soon catches up with him on Chestnut Court and attempts to place him under arrest.  He resists.  They arrest him anyway and add "resisting arrest" to the complement of charges headlining with DUI, and leading with "open container of alcohol" in the vehicle.

In order to cut down on drunk drivers,  perhaps the Department of Motor Vehicles should institute an intelligence test for license requirements.  

Bad Hang Up

 The Volvo may have hit a utility pole before crashing into large rocks

Amherst Police are currently searching for the driver -- a college aged male -- who fled the scene of this one car motor vehicle accident on Triangle Street just on the outskirts of town center about an hour ago.

Witnesses say the driver was drunk.  The car is registered to a UMass student.

AFD responded to clean up leaking fluids

Too Much Sharing? (Not Enough Follow Up!)

Governor Deval Patrick: stone cold sober as a matter of fact

So maybe it's just my weekly fascination with drunk drivers, but I have to wonder how  Governor Deval Patrick got home to his giganormous retreat in the Berkshires after he "... got quite drunk, by myself" in a West Stockbridge restaurant that is at least 3.5 miles from Richmond.

Walk-- or stagger -- back perhaps?  Called a taxi?  Or a State Police helicopter?

Maybe -- just maybe -- the reporter could have asked?  Oh never mind, the "interview" took place at a Cambridge marketing firm.

Used to be a tabloid like the Boston Herald would run stories about the rich and powerful getting drunk and acting badly, then denying it.  Only to have a reporter interview a waitress to verify the drunken tomfoolery.

Now we have the exact opposite.  Oh how far the investigative watchdogs have fallen. 

UPDATE 4:15 p.m.

Well that didn't take long.  The Governor's press person issued a statement, sort of (while here in Amherst, no less).  According to the venerable AP:

A spokeswoman for the governor, Heather Johnson, said Thursday that Patrick was driven home that evening by his state police driver. She said the governor is always accompanied by a trooper when he goes out, but wasn't sure if the driver was elsewhere in the restaurant or waited outside.

"I'm a human being. Sometimes they do things," Patrick said Thursday while at UMass Amherst to announce a life sciences grant.

DUI Dishonor Roll

About one-third of all drivers arrested for DUI are repeat offenders

Once again we had only one drunk driver taken off our streets over the past weekend, down from the usual 3 or 4 when UMass is in session.

And like last week our incapacitated driver, Paul R. Comtois,  age 43, was bagged on a major travel road (Rt 9), in the wee hours of the morning (1:42 a.m.) and he has no obvious connection to UMass. 

Although unlike last week's "winner" this Perp is a repeat offender.  Times three!

DUI DIshonor Roll

 Drivers age 21-24 make up highest percentage of drunk driver arrests (34%)

Thankfully we only had one DUI arrest last weekend, let's hope the trend continues.  But then, it only takes one to forever change innocent lives and loving families.

Click to enlarge.  Note busy intersection where arrest took place

DUI Dishonor Roll

In 2010, 211 children were killed in drunk driving crashes

How can you tell UMass is no longer in session? Zero party house arrests or citations over the weekend.

How can you tell drunk driving is not predominantly a student issue? Four-out-of-five of this weekend's Dishonor Roll winners (and yes I still consider "thirsty Thursday" start of the weekend) are NOT students ... although two are UMass staff, not setting a very good example for students.

Although the one student among them, Chiara Rose Raponi, did distinguish and draw attention to herself by crashing her car with two occupants on board.