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.