Jeffery Hersh of Chicago Illinois was admitted to a local hospital after a traffic crash led police to arrest the man for drunken driving.

At the Illinois Masonic Medical Center it was found the Hersh had been struck by a Taser gun. The 37-year-old man had apparently been shot over 18 miles away from the scene of the accident. He was shot by a police officer who had been trying to arrest the Des Plaines man for stealing booze.

The chain of events that led to the man’s hospitalization began at 10:45 on Sunday morning when Des Plaines police were called to Binny’s Beverage Depot after a reported robbery. Police pulled over the man at the corner of Oakton Street and Mt. Prospect rd.

Police Chief Jim Prandini said “He began fighting with the officers who attempted to take him into custody” and added that the man would not leave his vehicle.

Hersh then decided to make a run from the scene, all while holding an officer in his car and dragging him for some distance. At this point the police decided to Tase the man. Luckily no officers were hurt attempting to bring Hersh into custody.

Hersh left the initial scene at an extremely high rate of speed “probably over 100 mph” Pradini said. The man was chased for a short distance but was abandoned due to the highly erratic and fast driving. The Des Plaines police felt they had enough evidence to obtain a warrant and planned to arrest him later that day. Before they could do this they received a call from Chicago saying that Hersh was at Illinois Masonic.

The crash at Division St. and Central Park Ave. in the Humboldt Park neighborhood is the event that led to Hersh’s final arrest. He was arrested at the hospital at around 1:45pm and ticketed for driving under the influence of alcohol.

On January 26th a Tucson Arizona man was sentenced to ten and half years in prison. The man who killed his girlfriend in a high-speed alcohol induced car accident pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Jesse Moffett, the guilty driver, was weaving in and out of traffic while driving over 100 miles per hour. He then lost control of his car while driving on East Ina Road.

Colon, the man’s girlfriend, was killed at the scene of the accident. Moffet was later found hiding in some bushes nearby the accident. Blood tests confirmed that he was above the legal blood alcohol content limit at 0.179, more than twice the legal limit.

As a result of Moffett’s guilty plea the Pima County Superior Court Judge Hector Campov had the option to sentence him to as little as 7 years or as many as 21 years in prison.

The victims mother, Cathy McGowan, asked that the sentence be light citing mainly the fact that Moffett would be responsible for raising and caring for Colon’s 10-year old son.

McGowan stated “I think highly of Jesse. I believe he’s a wonderful person who made a tragic mistake and I think any one of us could make the same mistake on a bad day.”

The defense attorney for Moffet told Campov that both Colon and Moffet had been drinking for quick a few days after finding out that they had lost their unborn child.

Moffett said “ I trusted her with my life and she trusted me with hers and the fact that I betrayed that trust I have to live with every day.” “I destroyed what I found I really wanted in life.”

The prosecuting attorney, Dan Nicolini pushed for a 15 year sentence noting that Moffett put many other lives in peril that day, and has also had multiple previous convictions for drug related offenses.

A man from Orange Beach Alabama was driving under the influence of alcohol when he drove his Toyota 4Running into another SUV on Interstate 10. The impact ran the second vehicle off the road causing it to flip several times before coming to a rest. In the end the crash took the life of a passenger in the second vehicle.

Jonathon Cook, age 36 of Orange Beach was arrested on DUI and murder charges. The man was taken to the Baldwin County Corrections Center where he remained for the night.

Yvonne Arnold, age 47 of Louisiana was pronounced dead at the scene according to authorities.

Arnold was napping at the time in the back of the second SUV, which was driven by her brother Garry Arnold also of Louisiana. Also accompanying the brother and sister was Yvonne’s fiancé Cedric Sampson, said trooper spokesman Cpl. Joe Piggot.

Yvonne was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident. This resulted in ejection from the vehicle after it was struck by the drunken driver, and resulted in her death at the scene.

Garry Arnold and Sampson, who were both wearing seatbelts, were transported to nearby South Alabama Medical Center. Both men are listed in fair condition according to hospital officials.

The toxicology test that would reveal Cook’s blood alcohol content has not yet been released to the public. Cpl. Piggott states that this is standard departmental policy in a situation such as this.

State troopers said that in addition to alcohol, speed also played a major factor in the crash that resulted in one death and two hospitalizations.

Brandon E. Carpenter, age 25, was driving northbound on Bennett Street in the town of Muncie Indiana when he struck a guardrail. Muncie Police Department Sergeant Bruce Qualls says that the accident occurred just after 12:30 a.m..

At the time of the crash the driver was witnessed speeding much faster than the recommended speed limit.

Once the truck hit the guardrail it flipped over twice and finally settled in a nearby ditch. At the time Carpenter was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from the vehicle, and landed in another ditch nearly fifty feet away.

In the vehicle with Carpenter were two passengers, Kimmie Watt and Kevin Wood. Both were wearing seatbelts at the time of the wreck, and needed to be extracted by the Muncie Fire Department. Thankfully neither of the passengers was seriously injured.

Tests showed Carpenter had a blood alcohol content of nearly three times the legal limit at 0.237. Carpenter was not lucky enough to avoid serious injury, and was admitted to the Ball Memorial Hospital intensive care unit.

Sergeant Qualls said “We had DUI patrol out last night and that’s on we didn’t catch.” “Had we have caught him, he’d just be in jail and not the hospital.”

Carpenter will be charged while driving while intoxicated. This could also be accompanied by a charge of criminal recklessness per a further investigation.

Police warn that if convicted with a DUI in Indiana you can expect a minimum probation, payment of restitution, license suspension, court fees. If you are convicted for a second time the charge is stepped up to a felony level with possible jail time. For a third offense you will likely lose your license ten years which will be supplemented by at least three and up to nine months in jail.

Alcohol apparently caused a Northshore football coach to resign his job Wednesday four days after being arrested. According to Meredith Mendez, PIO for St. Tammany Public Schools, Fountainbleu Coach, Richard “Gregg” Hudson, has resigned today for personal reasons. The football coach Hudson was arrested and booked with multiple charges including: DWI, Resisting an Officer, Flight from an Officer, and Wreckless Operation of a Vehicle. His bail was set at $1900 and he bonded out shortly after being arrested.

After being charged, the football coach at Fontainebleau High School resigned Wednesday from his position, just four days after being booked for driving while intoxicated.

St. Tammany Parish sheriff’s spokesman George Bonnett says Richard Hudson smelled of alcohol and fell down as deputies tried to give him a sobriety test in the early hours of Jan. 3. Bonnett says Hudson was driving about 1 a.m. when he swerved and nearly struck a deputy’s patrol car in the lane next to him. He then led the officers down a chase on US190.

Bonnett says the deputy avoided an accident by braking and Hudson continued swerving as he drove down the highway. Two cars pursued Hudson before he was finally stopped. Authorities say he tried to out-run deputies and was unable to complete a field sobriety test because he was unable to stand up.

St. Tammany Parish school district spokeswoman Meredith Mendez said that Hudson was in his second year as head football coach for Fontainebleau. Hudson was 10-10 in two seasons at Fontainebleau. He led the Bulldogs to the Class 5A playoffs in 2007 where Fontainebleau lost to Catholic of Baton Rouge 35-13 in the first round. Fontainebleau was 4-5 in 2008.


A Santa Rosa man was arrested for a suspicion of drinking and driving after a crash occurred that seriously injured two teen-aged sisters. The two siblings were waiting at a nearby bus stop to catch a fare when they were hit. The man has a lengthy criminal record in Sonoma County marked with drugs, alcohol, and three drunken-driving convictions.

His Ford Ranger pickup flipped multiple times and struck the two girls waiting at a bus stop with their father, police said. He immediately fled the scene and was not arrested until later on Saturday, where he was discovered in a local apartment.

This arrest marks is the second time in less than a week that a driver with multiple DUI convictions is suspected of killing or seriously hurting others in crashes in Santa Rosa.

The name of the convicted man is Mike Tweedie. He recently just turned 35 on Christmas and has remained in the Sonoma County Jail on $30,000 bail Monday. He was due to be arraigned today on felony charges connected to Saturday’s crash on Yulupa Avenue.

Cruz Pineda, a 13-year-old eighth-grader, and her sister Deysi Pineda, a 15-year-old Montgomery High School student, are recovering from the severe accident. Cruz is at Children’s Hospital in Oakland and is reported to be in a coma undergoing treatment for a brain injury. Deysi is recovering from broken bones and was in stable condition at the Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

This latest drinking and driving incident is just the latest accusation of impaired driving facing Tweedie. According to the records of the court, he was also convicted of DUI three times in Sonoma County, and completed the county’s DUI education program after each incident. He also apparently has been treated in residential rehabilitation facilities at least twice, in Glen Ellen and Eureka.

The Chargers’ wide receiver Vincent Jackson was on probation stemming from a 2006 drunken driving conviction when he was arrested early Tuesday on suspicion of DUI, according to officials.

Vincent Jackson is currently 25 years old. He was previously arrested on June 12, 2006, and pleaded guilty about four months later to a misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence. The court ordered that he not drive with a “measurable amount of alcohol or drugs” in his systems while on five years probation.

In his most recent incident, California Highway Patrol Officer Brad Baehr has said Jackson was driving east on state Route 52 near Interstate 805 just after 2:30 a.m. The officer pulled him over for an undisclosed traffic violation but was then discovered to be under the influence. He described Jackson as having glassy, red eyes and slurred speech. The officer administered a series of field sobriety tests, which Jackson did not perform well, according to the documents.

Jackson was arrested and took a breath test, which revealed a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.13 percent. The legal limit in California for blood-alcohol concentration is 0.08 percent. Jackson was booked into jail and released by 6 a.m.

At Chargers Park yesterday, Jackson practiced in preparation for Sunday’s playoff game at Pittsburgh. He later declined to be interviewed by reporters. He proclaimed his innocence in a statement released Tuesday.

“Obviously, we’re all behind him,” running back LaDainian Tomlinson said. “Vincent says he’s innocent. We’re his teammates and we’re going to stand behind him. It’s a tough situation, and I hope he can get past it.”

Asked if the situation was a distraction to the team, Tomlinson offered that it might be just the opposite.“If anything, it really kind of makes you focus in and really understand that you have to be on your toes at all times,” Tomlinson said. “You can’t put yourself in that position. You start to realize things like that. It brings you a little closer. Guys have rallied around him, have talked to him, to make sure he’s going to get past this.”

A 42-year-old Miami woman faces numerous charges after a crash Friday night. The accident involved a seriously injured Colorado state trooper. According to the Colorado State Patrol, the Miami woman is facing charges of driving under the influence after a crash. The crash caused serious injuries to a Colorado state trooper, all of which remain unidentified at this time.

The collision happened at 8:22 p.m. at the intersection of West 10th Avenue and McIntyre Street in Jefferson County, said Trooper Ryan Sullivan. Less than twenty-four hours later, on the following Saturday, 42-year-old Brenda Gervais-Moreno was being held without bond on multiple charges. These accusations included suspicion of DUI, vehicular assault, disregarding a stop sign, driving without proof of insurance or a valid driver’s license, and possession of drug paraphernalia and marijuana.

According to his associates in the state patrol, 32-year-old Trooper Kirk Firko was northbound in Jefferson County on Friday night when his patrol vehicle collided with the accused’ white 2003 Buick heading westbound that failed to stop at a stop sign. State Trooper Firko tried to avoid the crash, but was unable to and collided with the Buick. The trooper was treated at a Lutheran Medical Center and was later released with unidentified serious injuries. Brenda Gervais-Moreno was also treated as a precautionary measure, but suffered little to no injuries. She was treated at St. Anthony’s.

Trooper Firko is a dedicated member of the 6A Golden Troop dedicated to increasing traffic safety throughout Colorado. With its focus on reducing fatal and injury crashes across the state, the Patrol focuses on traffic enforcement: reducing aggressive driving that causes crashes; preventing drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs from causing accidents; and enforcing the seatbelt and child restraint laws that help save lives.

A few hours after New Year’s Day celebrations concluded, a severe accident causing severe injuries to it’s victim. Arturo Julian Ibarra was driving while intoxicated when he lost control of his Mitsubishi Eclipse, according to Dallas authorities. While losing control, he slammed into a Nissan Pathfinder, causing the vehicle to hurtle down an embankment causing serious injuries to the driver of the vehicle.

The arrested 39-year-old man of Irving, had been arrested on a suspicion of driving while intoxicated in the past. In fact, fifteen years ago he caused a crash that killed his wife and their young baby who was 22 months old at the time. This shocked the daughter of the woman injured in the Nissan Pathfinder that crashed.

“He cannot be on the road,” said Angelica Cisneros, whose mother, 59-year-old Blanca Rendon, was driving the Pathfinder and suffered internal and head injuries. “You mean to tell me the first accident he killed his family, and he didn’t learn the lesson?”

Blanca Rendon had attended a New Year’s Eve Party when she was driving along Stemmons Freeway on her way to her daughter’s house at approximately 3:45 a.m. According to authorities, this is the exact time when Ibarra’s car struck her from behind near West Mockingbird Lane.

“The next thing she remembered is somebody hitting her so hard from the back,” Cisneros said. Police say Rendon’s Pathfinder flipped multiple times down an embankment.

“We had to thank God that she was still alive,” said Rendon’s daughter, who rushed to the scene. “Because the way that accident looked, it seems like she should have been dead.”

Police say Ibarra fled the scene, but officers soon caught up with him about a half-mile south of the crash. They booked him into the Dallas County Jail on charges of DWI and leaving the scene of a crash involving injury. He was being held Friday, with bail set at $90,000.

“At least my mom is not dead,” Cisneros said.

On Oct. 30, 1993, Ibarra’s own family wasn’t as lucky.

The California Highway Patrol reported twice as many drunken drivers were arrested on the Bay Area freeways this New Year’s Eve during the festivities in comparison to last year. This year officers arrested 84 drivers for being under the influence between the hours of 6 p.m. on December 31 and 6 a.m. on January first. According to Officer Hugo Mendoza of the California Highway Patrol’s Golden Gate division, this is an increase of 43 drivers from the same period in 2007.

On midnight this past Thursday, the nine Bay Area counties wrapped up a 21-day, anti-DUI campaign. At around the same time that evening two traffic deaths of Santa Clara County were reportedly caused by intoxicated drivers. Those crashes happened Dec. 19 and 20, both on San Jose roads.

Authorities reported no DUI-related deaths in San Mateo County.

Although, this year’s reported alcohol related arrests reflected an increase in the overall statewide trend of 436 arrests compared to 362 last December 31st.

“A couple days later, now it’s way up compared to last year. It’s kind of weird,” Mendoza said. “Maybe people were not drinking during Christmas and decided to go out during New Year’s.”

Statistics from the Avoid campaign in Santa Clara Country showed DUI arrests were down as the campaign was ending midnight Thursday. Thirteen-law enforcement agencies in the South Bay have arrested 741 people for drunken driving in the 19 enforcement days through Dec. 30, compared to 859 arrests in a 19-day campaign in 2007.

For the fourth year in a row, San Mateo County authorities reported no fatal collisions related to alcohol during the enforcement period. But DUI arrests appeared to surpass last year’s total, with 290 arrests through Thursday compared to 287 during the 2007 enforcement campaign. Most of the arrests were on weekends, especially for the weekend celebration.