In the past week, a northern Illinois mother has been sentenced to 45 days in jail and 4 years of probation due to a fatal DUI crash that killed her 9-month old daughter and injured three other young children in the beginning of 2008.

At the time, the offender was driving with her four children on the East 2750th Road in Northville Township when the Plymoth Voyager she was driving struck a La Salle County Highway Department snowplow. The snowplow’s operator was badly injured and the three other children were treated at Valley West Community Hospital in Sandwich. Soon after, she was charged with aggravated driving under the influence resulting in death.

Circuit Judge Cynthia Raccuglia sentenced Burgess to 90 days in La Salle County jail and an additional for years on probation. If she exhibits good behavior, she will likely only receive 45 days. In court, the offending woman pleaded for leniency. She was in tears explaining that she takes full responsibility for her daughter’s death and explained how much she had endured with her own injuries. According to the offender, she had undergone sixteen surgeries since the accident and a lot of physical and mental recovery. Her defense attorney fought against the incarceration, explaining that the offender is a good mother and not a danger to anyone.

Judge Raccuglia said state statutes are written “to stop drunk drivers from killing people” and recognized the “horrific scenario” of a mother causing the death of her own child. “However the .23 alcohol level at the time of the accident troubles me,” she said. Raccuglia concluded Burgess needed to be placed behind bars to fully understand the consequences of her actions. La Salle County prosecutor Matt Kidder had asked for four and a half years in prison.

A young 20-year-old female of Campton Hills was given an alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelet this past Thursday, after pictures of her partying showed up on Facebook. She was with a group of college students drinking liquor and “having a grand old time” according to Judge Thomas Miller. Not only is she underage, but she also awaits a trial on charges of reckless homicide and aggravated DUI stemming from a July 2007 South Elgin crash that killed a motorcyclist.

Several lawyers, attorneys, authorities, and other legal entities are starting to realize the power in these social networking sites. Not only do they provide photographic evidence (if the profile is public) but they also allow outside viewers into the lives and character of the person with the social networking profile. Evidence of partying, especially in this case, is being increasingly relied upon by law enforcement and an increasing amount of attorneys who are attempting to get this type of evidence admitted into the court room.

The young woman, and defendant, had been ordered to not consume alcohol or to even be around people who were drinking. But due to a little online investigation on Facebook, the South Elgin police discovered photos of the accused drinking at a college in Ohio with some friends.

“It appears the defendant is having a grand old time drinking tequila,” Judge Thomas Mueller was quoted as saying in the Chicago Tribune.

Assistant State’s Attorney Steve Sims argued for the monitor, telling the court the defendant had previously violated her bail by failing to report by phone to the county court services department.

The defense attorney argued against the bracelet, saying it would hold his client up to scorn.

The judge cited with prosecutors, quoting the caption of one of the Facebook photos: “Erika passed out in bed. Ha. Ha.”

A 27-year-old drunken driver in Long Island crashed his vehicle into an Officer on the Long Island Expressway this past May. The trial for the case has begun in the judicial system.

In court, the family of the Nassau County Police officer was very emotional while listening to the lawyers defend the man being charged in the drunken driving accident that almost killed the young father. His mother, Patricia, father, Kenneth, sisters, Danielle and Jennifer, vowed to attend every day of the high profile trial for the offender — a Long Island man accused of driving drunk and speeding recklessly at 70 mph into the officer while he was sitting inside his flashing patrol car writing a ticket for another alleged drunk he’d just pulled over on the Long Island Expressway.

“It’s emotionally upsetting for us. It’s hard to talk about, so we’re just trying to do the best we can,” said the victim’s sister, adding she was thankful for the blue wall of officers in attendance from the Nassau County Police Department. “My brother appreciates it. We all do.”

The family wept during the first day of the chilling testimony describing how the intelligent, dedicated, athletic Nassau cop was discovered in his crushed cruiser, unresponsive, unconscious and with massive head trauma by a city firefighter and colleagues that rushed in to save his life. The 30-year-old officer is paralyzed on his right side, able to speak only in single syllables.

“Even the speech, everything [is overwhelming], but he’s always been a hard worker,” the victim’s father said.

The defense claimed that it was the drinking and driving that caused the vehicle to crash, but a mechanical problem with a bad tire.

“When you put a drunk person behind the wheel of a car, this kind of a crash becomes inevitable,” Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said. “Unfortunately, in this case, a police officer was the victim.”

A fifteen-year old teenager from Wisconsin died after a crash involving a drunk driver. The car she was riding in was also carrying other teenagers who were badly inured in the accident in Wisconsin’s Madison. The five other teenagers in the vehicle were in the hospital on Saturday. The authorities have mistakenly reported the death of two teens earlier this Saturday.

The young girl was killed at the scene of the accident. The deadly injuries she suffered occurred in a two-vehicle accident that happened just before midnight on Friday night. A second fifteen-year-old girl is in critical condition with life-threatening injuries at a nearby hospital.

The driver of the vehicle, a fifteen-year-old male, lost control of his car and hit an SUV traveling in the opposite direction. The SUV’s driver, a 40-year-old man, was arrested for operating while intoxicated and booked into the Dane County Jail.

According to Madison Police, a 13-year-old female remained in critical condition on Saturday. The 15-year-old male was stable, and a 13-year-old female and 14-year-old male were in good condition.

According to Wisconsin DUI Law: “If a person causes the death of another person or an unborn child by operating or handling a vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant or having a detectable amount of a restricted controlled substances in their blood, or if the person has a prohibited alcohol concentration level, they may be charged with vehicular homicide while intoxicated - a class D Felony, unless the person has a prior qualifying conviction, suspension, or revocation, then they may be charged with a class C Felony. For a class C Felony, the penalty is a fine of up to $100,000, or imprisonment of up to 40 years, or both. For a Class D Felony, the penalty is a fine of up to $100,000, or imprisonment of up to 25 years, or both.”

Phi Kappa Psi fraternity brought its first “Drunk Driving Awareness Day” to UC Irvine’s campus on Ring Road this past Wednesday, May 27, complete with a mock presentation of a post-drinking and driving accident.

The professional fraternity teamed up with the Orange County chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in order to increase student and campus awareness of the consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol.

With the assistance of MADD, Phi Kappa Psi was able to bring a “Crashed Car Exhibit” to Ring Road. The exhibit then featured a car that had gone through an accident. The exhibit was sponsored as the spring philanthropy and was meant to inspire university-aged men and woman to make responsible decisions.

“We just wanted something that was more relevant to college students, so we’re raising awareness for [driving under the influence],” said Jared Smith, a second-year political science major and member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.

The group brought Chronic Tacos to campus to sell to students with hopes of donating funds to MADD. It also gave away free green bracelets with “13,140” written on them in order to increase awareness.

“13,140 is the number of people who die in drunk driving accidents every year,” Smith said.

While the group worked to raise money for MADD, it stated that its main goal was to increase student awareness of driving under the influence.

The reports of the accident were displayed on the outside of the car in several different languages.

One report read: “The violent impact of the collision caused the defendant’s car and the Toyota Camry he hit to travel a few hundred feet … both occupants of the Toyota that was broad-sided were killed instantly.”

“It’s definitely more effective than just talking about it,” Spivak said

A California woman from the town of Brea was driving her vehicle under the influence when she struck another vehicle and killed her own father.  The woman was sentenced the judicial committee to three years of probation and 30 days in jail for driving drunk and causing the death of her father. The traffic accident killed her 90-year-old father almost instantly.

The 49-year-old woman of Brea had a blood-alcohol level of .11 while she was operating her vehicle. According to prosecutors, the vehicle she was operating was a Toyota 4-Runner that killed her father from Yorba Linda.

The California Highway Patrol officials said the drunken offender was driving the acclaimed blue Toyota 4-Runner south on the fifty-seven free way. The offender made her largest mistake when she decided to step into her vehicle intoxicated and then when she made an unsafe lane change in an attempt to exit on Chapman Avenue. The entire right side of her vehicle collided with the left front end of a silver Toyota Sequoia traveling on the outside of her vehicle.

The drunken offender’s Toyota 4-Runner then began to spin and turn out of control and proceeded to roll into a ravine. This accident was right next to the Chapman Avenue off ramp. The condition of the mangled vehicle caused the offender and her father to become trapped inside the vehicle. The father, who was seated in the passenger seat, died from his injuries in the impact of the crash.

Under the California Vehicle Code, Section 23153: “Any person who, while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, or under the combined influence of intoxicating liquor and any drug, drives a vehicle and when so driving does any act forbidden by law or neglects any duty imposed by law in the driving of such vehicle, which act or neglect proximately causes bodily injury to any person other than himself, is guilty of a felony.”