A recent DUI crash that took the life of a highway patrolman might finally be the catalyst for Montana to catch up with the rest of the nation when it comes to DUI penalties. According to an article on Fox News’ website, Montana’s anti-government attitude, lack of public transportation, isolated roads and a saloon era mentality toward drinking has added up to a deadly combination as far as drinking and driving is concerned. It is still common to see bars offer to go cups to patrons before they hit the road.

The change in the enforcement of DUI laws began with a high profile death. Montana Highway Patrolman Michael Hayes was killed in a head-on collision with a drunk driver. The man in the car that killed the trooper was served 13 drinks in 3 ½ hours. The judge in the case reflected the state’s change in attitude when he threw out a plea bargain with the bartender that served the drinks and ordered mandatory jail time.

There are conflicting reports on the age of the victim but all reports seem to concur that the teenager is most likely going to recover from the drunk driving accident. Camena Wiltshire was walking on the side of 17th Street with a friend when she was allegedly hit by Stephens’ car. She was thrown against the windshield and taken to St. Joseph’s hospital. Her injuries were listed as non-life threatening.

There was no information on whether the victim of the accident was on a sidewalk or just the side of the road at the time of the Wednesday night accident. Police did report that Stephens’ was driving his Camry northbound. The field sobriety tests were conducted on N. Ruth Place on the 8700 block. None of the on-line stories indicated of Stephens was able to post bail or if he was still being held. They also did not mention which jail he was taken to in Tampa although Orient Road was the most likely destination for a DUI arrestee.

According to the story Riemann was driving drunk on the wrong side of the Tampa highway when she collided with O’Boyle’s car. Troopers who responded to the crash felt Riemann was drunk at the time of the accident. The guilty plea to DUI manslaughter charges will carry a sentence of between 12 and 23 years according to the article on the news station’s website.

Riemann was arrested in September of 2008 after blood tests taken at Tampa General Hospital put her blood-alcohol level at more than three times the legal limit. Video evidence showed the then-25-year-old running over cones at a toll plaza before heading the wrong way on the highway. Riemann apparently drove more than 2 miles in the wrong direction at 2:00 in the afternoon on a Wednesday before crashing into O’Boyle’s 1998 Pontiac. O’Boyle was just 24 when she died. Moll had a shattered leg and also had swelling in her brain. Riemann had previous traffic citations including one in 2005 for driving without a license.

Smith was accused of being drunk when he ran a red light on Toledo Blade Blvd. and State Road 776. He slammed his truck into a Ford Mustang carrying a father and his two daughters. Sarah-Dian Heineman, her father Rick Heineman and her sister Madison were all hospitalized following the crash. Sarah died ten days later.

Smith was seen throwing beer cans from his truck the night of the fatal accident and investigators also found prescription painkillers near the scene of the accident as well. His blood test results showed traces of marijuana, Xanax and oxycodone at the time of the accident. Smith blamed the brakes on his pick-up truck for being the culprit in his accident but a jury didn’t seem to buy his reasoning considering the guilty verdict.

Smith and his Florida DUI lawyer tried to get the judge to throw out the conviction and grant the man a new trial. They claimed Smith was detained with excessive force and that officers didn’t fully report details about an odor of alcohol on Smith. That request for a new trial was denied on Monday.

On top of the 30 year DUI prison sentence the judge handed down, Smith also received a lifetime license revocation. Smith is 25-years old and his DUI penalties could keep him in jail until he is in his fifties.

Twenty-year old Bonnie McCowan was pulled over for driving 55 M.P.H. in a 45 M.P.H. zone. She was pulled over on Highway 301 in North Florida between Gainesville and Jacksonville. She says when the officer pulled her over for speeding he gave her three options. He told her she could pay the ticket and get four points on her license. She could contest the Florida traffic ticket in court or she could pay a $191 roadside fee and avoid the traffic ticket and the points that go along with it.

The officer told McCOwan that the only form of payment she could make for the roadside fee was cash. Even though the college student thought it was strange, she called a friend to meet her on the road with the money. McCowan credited her trust of police officers for falling victim to what amounted to a bribe. Luckily the friend she called to bring her the money informed a police dispatcher of what was going on and they responded to the situation by showing up at the scene of the traffic stop.

The officer in question was not named in the report but according to the department he had only been on the job for 10 weeks. They went on to say that the officer is still considered a unpaid auxiliary officer right now. Lawtey officials are looking for other drivers who were offered the same roadside fee offer.

According to a report on the website TheSmokingGun.com, Tasha Lee Cantrell was the passenger in the car belonging to the person arrested for drunk driving. While her friend’s car was being impounded, Cantrell asked Sheriff’s Deputy Mitchell Landis for a ride home. He agreed. During the trip to her Fort Walton home he heard the teen open a can and then saw her drinking from it. He investigated and found that the can was Steel Reserve and then headed to the sheriff’s office to charge the girl with underage drinking.

During the stop, police claim to have smelled marijuana and that lead to a search of the 19-year-old’s passenger, who just happened to be his mother. During that search police say they found 17 grams of coke in several small bags. She was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia as well and held in lieu of $12,000 bail.

The federal government has proposed a ban on all text messaging by interstate truckers and bus drivers while behind the wheel. Issuing traffic tickets for commercial drivers can be a powerful punishment for men and women whose job is dependent on a clean driving record. The biggest debate on the issue has centered on how the ban would be enforced. In Florida traffic tickets for texting and driving would be a secondary violation.

Last year budget cuts caused the Orange County Clerk of Courts to cut more than 100 jobs. Now clerk’s offices in Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake and Volusia Counties could lose another $5.75 million causing them to once again scale-back. The result will be longer lines according to clerks across the state of Florida.

Wright issued an apology through the team saying the photo came from a private Internet chat where someone apparently captured the image from the screen. The person who circulated the photo apparently put it out for public consumption after Wright’s girlfriend commented about how great she thought the father of her child is. According to the Miami Herald Wright is the third NBA player to have nude photos surface on the Internet.

Deputies arrived on the scene and started to give Craft field sobriety tests before determining the teen was unable to stand and stopping those exercises. He was then given a breath test but according to the report on mysuncoastnews.com the results were negligible. Craft then agreed to a urinalysis after a drug recognition expert was called to start a DUI drug investigation.

The fine for motorists ticketed for a seat belt violation is $116. The detail focusing on seat belt violations in Pinellas County are being funded by a $20,000 grant from the Florida Department of Transportation. The deputies will continue these details at 23 targeted intersections that have high rates of traffic crashes and fatalities.

Perez denied the accusations but did admit to having a few beers and mixed drinks. He said he had no idea who owned the Xanax and marijuana police found after searching the car. The officers arresting him didn’t seem to buy that story and charged Perez with DUI, possession of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance. He was booked into Land O’ Lakes Jail on $4,300 bail.

The mother of Cummings’ victim was in court and believes the women’s seven year sentence should now be spent inside a jail cell instead of in her living room. It will be up to a judge to determine what will happen next when a hearing is held April 8. Cummings could serve the rest of her sentence for leaving the scene of an accident in a Polk County prison.

The Tampa native was released from jail on his own recognizance despite the DUI charges. Gooden was also charged with traffic violations, endangering a child and leaving the scene of an accident. There was a child in his vehicle at the time of the crash. The article on TBO.com mentions that it is not known if Gooden has a criminal defense attorney representing him on these charges.