Posts Tagged ‘Irvine Police Department’

Orange County DUI Checkpoints fail to stop

Monday, February 15th, 2010

As our Orange County DUI lawyers have previously blogged, Anaheim Police conducted a DUI checkpoint and saturation patrols Friday evening through the wee hours Saturday, while the Orange County Sheriff’s Department also stepped up patrols aimed at getting drunk drivers off the streets of Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Hills and Laguna Woods that very same night.

While the police were spending their time on profit making Perhaps, then, it should be no surprise that DUI-related collisions that injured three people and left two dead happened instead in Garden Grove, Irvine and Costa Mesa.
A commercial truck tractor went off the residential street of Woodbury Road in Garden Grove around 11 a.m. Friday and hit several trees, a fence, concrete planters and a block wall before coming to a stop at 11052 Woodbury Road.

That’s not all the rig hit, as 36-year-old Olga Quiroz, who was standing in her yard, was struck and dragged under the truck until it came to a halt at the block wall at the back of the property.

Paramedics treated the woman at the scene before having her taken to a local hospital with lacerations, fractures and other injuries to her legs.

The truck’s driver, William Davis, 44, of Orange, was held at the scene by residents until police arrived. Uninjured, Davis was evaluated to have been driving under the influence of alcohol and was later arrested on suspicion of felony DUI.

Several heavy-duty two trucks eventually removed the damaged rig, and the street was closed for about three hours.

The truck and driver were also linked to a non-injury hit and run traffic collision that happened about 45 minutes before at Euclid Avenue and Trask Street. Surveillance video from a nearby home on Woodbury Road is helping investigators piece together the truck’s course of travel moments before the collision. Anyone with other helpful information is asked to contact police Investigator Jason Perkins at (714) 741-5823.

An Irvine police officer saw a 2004, 4-door Nissan Altima zooming at speeds in excess of 80 mph through the Alton Parkway and Harvard Avenue intersection, running a red light, around 1:30 a.m. Saturday.  The chase was on heading east on Alton, but the officer lost sight of the Altima as it continued eastbound through Culver Drive.

About 30 seconds later, another Irvine cop saw the Altima approach the Alton and East Yale intersection, lose control, strike the curb and then collide with a group of trees at the southeast corner. The driver and lone occupant of the Altima was killed instantly. The 24-year-old Garden Grove resident’s name was withheld pending notification of his family.

Around 2:15 a.m. that same morning, a patron of the Red Night Club at 4647 MacArthur Blvd., Newport Beach, reported that his 2004, 4-door Nissan Altima was stolen from the nightclub’s parking lot. Newport Beach and Irvine police put two and 4-door together and determined the car wrapped around the trees was the stolen Altima.

Because an Irvine officer had tried initially to pull-over a speeding vehicle that was eventually involved in a traffic collision, the California Highway Patrol is conducting the collision investigation. The Orange County Sherriff-Coroner’s Office is conducting toxicology tests on the driver. Anyone with information is asked to contact the CHP’s Santa Ana Office or the Irvine Police Department.

Finally, some time before 2:30 a.m. Sunday, a 2008 white Toyota Tundra that had earlier been involved in a non-injury accident in Santa Ana was seen heading south on Flower Street before going through a red light at the intersection with Sunflower Avenue in Costa Mesa and broadsiding a 2008 gold Toyota Carolla that was heading west on Sunflower.

The passenger in the second car, Cara Lee, 20, of Santa Ana, was killed in the collision.

The Corolla’s driver, Hao A. Nguyen, 21, of Santa Ana, was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana for treatment of minor abrasions. He was later arrested on suspicion of DUI.

The Tundra driver, Gustavo A. Vega, 22, of Costa Mesa, was treated for minor abrasions at the scene and arrested on suspicion of murder, vehicular manslaughter, felony DUI, felony injury hit-and-run and possession of a controlled substance. He also faces additional charges from the earlier hit-and-run in Santa Ana.

Remember to be careful out there.  And, if you ever have questions for a DUI specialist orange county, call me at (877) 568-2977 anytime.

Posts Tagged ‘Irvine Police Department’

Orange County DUI Checkpoints fail to stop

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Our Orange County DUI Lawyers found a press release by the Irvine Police Department regarding their a DUI/sobriety checkpoint during the evening hours on Saturday December 19, 2009. The checkpoint was located at Irvine Center Drive and Hubble in the City of Irvine. As part of the California Holiday DUI Crackdown Campaign, the purpose of the checkpoint was to deter impaired driving and hold accountable those driving under the influence.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) helped sponsor and provide support to these checkpoints. According to MADD, in one survey, 79% of the public approved of sobriety checkpoints.

Funding for the special enforcement campaign, December 16, 2009 through January 3, 2010 came from a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

This checkpoint was staffed by sworn officers and professional staff from the Irvine Police Department, and by MADD volunteers.

Look at these numbers:

Vehicles Stopped      Sobriety Tests      DUI Arrests      Citations Issued      Vehicles Towed

347                                          4                     ZERO (0)                     14                                               5

347 vehicles and drivers (not to mention other passengers) inconvenienced, traffic delayed, for zero arrests?  For 14 traffic tickets to be issued?  As I’ve said so many times, DUI checkpoints are a waste of time, and aren’t even as effective as the more useful saturation patrols.  But still, based upon MADD pressure and federal money, they persist.

I often get the argument, “but Robert, if even one drunk driver is taken off the road…”, an argument that has its own logical fallacy, but in this case, as with many others, what if not even one drunk driver is taken off the road?

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Posts Tagged ‘Irvine Police Department’

Orange County DUI Checkpoints fail to stop

Monday, February 15th, 2010

The following press release was sent to us, due to our relationship with law enforcement as the best DUI lawyers in Orange County. We present it to you for your information and knowledge in planning ahead.

IRVINE, CA (September 6, 2009): The Irvine Police Department conducted a sobriety/driver’s license checkpoint during the evening hours on Saturday September 5, 2009. The checkpoint was located at Jamboree and Birch in the City of Irvine. As part of the Drunk Driving: Over the Limit, Under Arrest national DUI crackdown campaign, the purpose of the checkpoint was to deter impaired driving and hold accountable those driving under the influence.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) estimates that communities which consistently use sobriety checkpoints experience as much as eight times the reduction in DUI incidents as communities that use roving patrols alone. Checkpoints have been highly effective in educating the public to the hazards of impaired driving. According to MADD, in one survey, 79% of the public approved of sobriety checkpoints.

The California Office of Traffic Safety and the National Highway Transportation Administration have given support for this project.

This checkpoint was staffed by sworn officers and professional staff from the Irvine Police Department, and by community volunteers.

No significant traffic delays were encountered as a result of the checkpoint.

Vehicles Stopped Sobriety Tests DUI Arrests Citations Issued

338 11 3 9

For further information contact Lt. John Hare at (949) 724-7112.

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