Issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the report was published in 1995. At that time, only 9 percent of drivers across the nation were Hispanic – but overall, 21 percent of arrests for driving under the influence were Hispanic drivers. Furthermore, Hispanic drivers were part of automobile accidents more often than black or Caucasian populations. While car crashes represented the third primary cause of fatalities across the entire Hispanic population, they were also the second most common cause of death among Hispanics aged 24-44 years old and the primary cause of fatalities for those in the younger category of 17 to 24 years old.

More than 100 agencies submitted study data collected by phone surveys and focus groups, substance abuse experts, social workers, clerical workers and police or law enforcement staff. Information from Community leaders was also included. Regions of the U.S. with higher Hispanic populations were the focus, including southwestern, western and eastern areas. Segments of the population were categorized, such as Guatemalan, Mexican, Puerto Rican and Salvadoran.

Social pressures to be “machismo” may be connected to higher rates of accidents and fatalities, reflected in activities such as speeding, drag racing, using alcohol and drugs together or attempting to drive while under the influence. Illiteracy may also be a factor, with study results suggesting some Latinos were unable to read traffic signs or purposely ignored them. The alarming trend to act macho may also be generational, with fathers reported to frequently purchase fast cars for their sons.

Other research statistics show that many Hispanics arrested for drunk driving may be illegal aliens; many others have been arrested previously for driving while intoxicated. Experts say the problem reflects generational alcoholism, a prolific situation among some segments of the Latino population.

In response to these dangerous study outcomes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has enhanced its driver education programs for Latinos. Favorable results have surfaced, including fewer infant deaths when mothers were more educated about the dangers of holding babies on their laps while driving. It is not yet known if deaths or injuries across the U.S. have been reduced since the report was published.

Overall, the Hispanic population represents the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population, making the study findings extremely important in considering steps to help save lives and prevent injuries. Study results could also influence immigration and deportation laws.
 

Investigators said Bruce, who was clocked by radar driving 85 mph in a 65 mph zone in a suburban neighborhood outside Atlanta, needed to be cut from the wreckage of her car and taken to the hospital. The woman in the first car she struck was also taken to the hospital.

"Sounded like a big explosion. [I saw] one car just kind of go airborne and slam into the back of the other one," witness Tracey Harris told ABC News affiliate WSB-TV. "Her car just came apart… The whole tail-end kind of it came off. Her stuff was all over the street."

Authorities are still awaiting the results of an autopsy performed on the fetus and a toxicology test given to Bruce. They believe Bruce was drunk at the time. The results of those tests will determine how prosecutors proceed. Based on preliminary information, it is likely Bruce will be charged with "feticide by vehicle," according to Douglas County District Attorney David McDade.

"The preliminary investigation leads us to believe she was under the influence of alcohol," McDade told ABCNews.com. "She was fleeing police at a high rate of speed and driving dangerously."

The maximum penalty in Georgia for vehicular feticide carries a 15-year prison sentence.
McDade said investigators are awaiting the autopsy to determine whether the fetus died as a result of the collision.

Bruce, he said, would not be charged until she leaves the hospital. She’s still in the hospital. We’ll wait until she is discharged before we bring formal charges," he said.
Calls to Bruce’s hospital room at Grady Memorial Hospital went unanswered. A duty nurse said she was awake, but "still a bit out of it."

Authorities believe the fetus was 24 weeks old and died as a result of the crash. "The investigation is ongoing," McDade said. "An autopsy is being performed on the child and there will almost certainly be criminal responsibility… Under the Georgia statute it doesn’t matter the age of the child as long as it was alive just prior to the incident."

Twenty-four states recognize the "fetus as a victim" in specially written laws that deal with the death of a fetus in drunk driving cases, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Georgia is exceptional in that it’s the only state with a specific law pertaining to what it calls "feticide by vehicle." In several states the age of the fetus at the time of death changes the penalty. Seven states have laws that punish someone deemed responsible for the death of a fetus from the time of its conception.

In other states penalties begin at 7 weeks or 12 weeks.

Five states consider a fetus a person whose death can result in a full-fledged murder charge when in the "quickening state" at 16-18 weeks. Another three states charge a suspect with murder only once the fetus is deemed viable, that is at least 28-weeks-old and capable of surviving outside the womb, according to MADD.

AHN reports that the law, according to BC Solicitor General Mike de Jong, will take effect in fall. De Jong said the law was made in memory of four-year old BC resident Alexa Middelaer, who was hit and killed by a drunk driver while Alexa was feeding a horse on a road in Delta in 2008.

Alexa’s parents and the Mothers Against Drunk Driving attended the launch of the law. De Jong said the clear, swift and severe penalties seek to cut drunk driving incidents by 35 percent in 2013. About 130 people die yearly in BC due to drunken driving.

According to the 2009 ranking made by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the province is in seventh place only in terms of combating drunk driving.

Police officers will have the power to sanction tougher penalties for drivers who refuse to give a breath sample or have a blood alcohol level over the 0.08 percent legal limit. Motorists who belong to that category would be given an immediate 90-day driving ban and be fined $500. The driver may also face criminal charges and the vehicle may be impounded for 30 days.

Drivers found to have blood alcohol levels between 0.05 and 0.08 percent would be given a warning and an immediate three-day driving ban and a $200 fine on first offense. On second offense, the fine goes up to seven-days driving prohibition and a $300 penalty, and on third offense, the fine escalates to a 30-day ban and $400 fine.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada Chief Executive Officer Andrew Murie lauded BC for the new law. Murie said in a statement, “We believe these major, escalating penalties will better support both deterrence and enforcement, save lives, and prevent hundreds of injuries each year on B.C.’s roads. We encourage other provinces to study what B.C. is doing and follow its example.”

"Drinking and driving kills and I’ll do anything to remove drunk drivers from the road," says Acting SSgt. Graeme Ramsay from the Calgary Police Service.

Calgary’s police chief is calling for the tougher measures because he says the current laws are ineffective. Currently, officers can give a breathalyzer test only if they suspect a driver is impaired. After that, police say they must maneuver through complicated legal procedures that are often challenged in court.

"Slightly over 50 percent of impaired driving charges result in a conviction. That means half don’t and that’s a really bad average," says Chief Rick Hanson.

Lawyers who defend alleged drunk drivers say the new law would violate another fundamental right: the one that protects everyone against unreasonable search and seizure.

"By simply giving police more powers to do whatever they do – to stop a vehicle when they want, how they want – that’s not the way to do it," says Steve Virk, a lawyer.

"As much as people think the police are going to drive around and put them on a breathalyzer, that’s not going to happen. We don’t have the resources. What it allows us to do is deal more effectively with impaired driving," says Chief Hanson.

Twenty other countries have implemented the random roadside screening legislation. In Australia, drunk-driving fatalities dropped 36 percent, and in Ireland, they dropped 23 percent.

Wahler was taken into custody at 10:54 p.m. Friday evening on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, Newport Beach Sgt. Evan Sailor confirms to PEOPLE magazine. He was released on his own recognizance hours later.

Last week, video surfaced online of Wahler being cuffed by Mexican police in Cabo San Lucas March 11 after he allegedly got into a fight at a nightclub.

In a 2007 interview with PEOPLE, Wahler admits: "I did try drugs, but it was never my thing. It was alcohol, for sure. It would take me about 10 drinks before that other side came out. It’s like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

"I’m embarrassed as hell, but I really do not remember my arrests," added Wahler, who did a stint with inpatient rehab in 2007. "They’re blackouts. And that’s scary."

According to a police report, James P. Miller of Cincinnati, Ohio, was seen driving the wrong way out of the entrance to a one-way street at East Park Place in Oxford.

Officers stopped him and found that Miller was wearing a breathalyzer costume. After investigation, Miller was found to be intoxicated, and his blood-alcohol was .158 percent, nearly twice the legal limit.

Inside his car, officers allegedly found an open container of Bud Light in the center console.

Officers also found what was left of a case of Bud Light in the passenger side front seat and in the trunk. After checking his wallet, police found multiple Ohio IDs.

Miller was arrested and transported to the police station, where he consented to take a blood-alcohol-content test. He was cited for driving while intoxicated, driving with an open container, possessing a fake I.D., and a one-way street violation.

Carmen Huertas plead not guilty to 14 counts against her, including manslaughter, drunk driving, and assault.

Several members of Huertas’s family were in attendance at the arraignment, including her mother and several of her siblings. Huertas was not in attendance, but appeared on a live video feed from Elmhurst Hospital, where her lawyer says she’s on suicide watch.

Authorities say Huertas’s blood alcohol level was well over the legal limit when she crashed her station wagon along the Parkway near 96th Street on October 11.

Huertas was driving seven young girls including her own daughter to the Bronx from a slumber party in Chelsea.

The district attorney says that during the ride, Huertas played a guessing game with the children, asking those who thought they would make it home without crashing to raise their hands.

Leandra Rosado, 11, died in the crash. One of the other children is still hospitalized.
Huertas, according to her sister, is devastated by the girl’s death.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. My heart goes out to you and your family. All our hearts go out to him and his family,” said Huertas’s sister Yolanda Velez. “This is a tragedy. I mean, this is a lose-lose situation.”

The lawyer representing Carmen Huertas acknowledged that his client made some terrible mistakes that night.

“It’s clear that bad judgment was used, poor judgment was used,” said attorney Steven Adam Rubin. “But we don’t really want to talk further about the circumstances. This case has just begun. This is the first day of a long process.”

Bail was set at $250,000 cash. Huertas’s sister began sobbing when the amount was read.
The defendant faces up to 15 years behind bars if she’s convicted. She will be back in court on December 1.

Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said last week charges may also be brought against others who saw Huertas leaving the party intoxicated with the girls in her car.

The Associated Press reports that Roberts wanted the Supreme Court to review the lower court ruling but failed to persuade enough of his colleagues.

The court declined to hear an appeal from Virginia officials who had their drunk driving conviction of Joseph A. Moses Harris, Jr. thrown out by that state’s Supreme Court.

Police were notified by an anonymous tipster that Harris was driving intoxicated, but the arresting officer did not see Harris break any traffic laws.

The majority of the justices did not say why they did not take the case, but Roberts and Justice Antonin Scalia said in a written dissent that the Virginia court’s decision will put people in danger.

"The decision below commands that police officers following a driver reported to be drunk do nothing until they see the driver actually do something unsafe on the road—by which time it may be too late," Roberts wrote.

Roberts noted that close to 13,000 people die in alcohol-related car crashes a year, which equals one death every 40 minutes.

Roberts said a majority of the courts have said it doesn’t violate the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure to pull over drunk drivers based on anonymous tips from programs like the "Drunk Busters Hotline."

But some courts, including some in Wyoming, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, have agreed with Virginia in saying that police must see a traffic violation before pulling over a suspected drunk driver based on an anonymous tip.

The Supreme Court should have stepped in and made the rule clear, Roberts said. "The stakes are high. The effect of the rule below will be to grant drunk drivers ‘one free swerve’ before they can be legally pulled over by police.”

"It will be difficult for an officer to explain to the family of a motorist killed by that swerve that the police had a tip that the driver of the other car was drunk, but that they were powerless to pull him over, even for a quick check," he added.

Richmond, Virginia police were called on the morning of Dec. 31, 2005, and told that an intoxicated Harris was driving a green Altima down the street. A police officer saw Harris drive slowly through an intersection where he didn’t have to stop and put on his brake lights well in advance of a red light.

Harris then pulled over to the side of the road, where the police officer smelled alcohol on his breath. Harris also failed the field sobriety tests, but the police officer did not see him break any traffic laws.

Harris was convicted of driving while intoxicated, but the Virginia Supreme Court threw out his conviction. The court said since the police officer did not see erratic driving behavior like swerving, there was not a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity to warrant the stop.

Harris’s lawyer said the Supreme Court should let that decision stand because "society’s reasonable expectation of privacy requires some facts to support the tipster’s allegation that the driver was intoxicated."

If that’s correct and the Fourth Amendment bans the use of anonymous tips on drunk drivers without police verification, "the dangerous consequences of this rule are unavoidable," Roberts said.

"But the police should have every legitimate tool at their disposal for getting drunk drivers off the road. I would grant certiorari to determine if this is one of them."

Kyle Cohen, 29, of Chula Vista, California, was traveling north on I-15 when his 2001 Volvo sedan rear-ended a Jeep Cherokee carrying four Marines, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Eric Newbury.

The Marines exited the vehicle to assess the damage and were standing on the shoulder to the right of the jeep when one of them, Lance Corporal Robert T. Austin, was struck by a 2001 Chevy Cavalier driven by 18-year-old Oscar Tinoco of Quail Valley. Austin, who was thrown off the side of the highway and down onto Gopher Canyon Road, was taken to Palomar Hospital and pronounced dead.

Tinoco and a 17-year-old passenger fled on foot from the scene, leaving their car blocking the lanes of the freeway. Shortly thereafter, Sarah Garcia, 21, of Fallbrook, was traveling north when she struck Tinoco’s car in her 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which veered down an embankment, across the Gopher Canyon Road onramp, vaulted a guardrail, rolled down another embankment, and came to rest on its wheels, according to Newbury and the coroner’s office. Garcia was pronounced dead at the scene.

Tinoco and his passengers were caught nearby, and Tinoco was jailed on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated, and fleeing the scene of an accident.

The other three Marines in the Jeep, Joshua Naimi, 29, Robert McBee, 20, and the driver Aaron Lowden, 20, were transported to Palomar Medical Center and treated for minor injuries.

The Bristol Herald Courier reports that the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office will transport offenders to the store, where their volunteer labor counts double toward their jail hours.

Sheriff Wayne Anderson said drunken driving offenses run the social and economic spectrum. He said there are between 50 and 100 inmates on any given day who are DUI offenders.

Anderson also said a similar project has been done before, and that the inmates “really enjoyed it. They felt like they were giving back.”