SOBERING STORY
I was a local PD in NC and my "specialty was DWI.. Allot of people think it is a victimless crime which in the very lucky cases a drunk driver made it to the destination without incident..I personally had a Zero Tolerance for that.. IF you were drunk and behind the wheel, you are going down. ANd there were occasions that I arrested drunk drivers as they pulled into thier driveway
.. Average citizens have the luxury of not knowing or not seeing what really happens in the neighborhood other than watching it on TV (which in most cases is not really impacting a train of thought... But I would like to share a story:
A late Wed Evening in the mid 90s~11 pm an officer was behind a vehicle traveling at the speed limit but was "weaving" between the lines in the middle and side of the lane. The blues were lit and and vehicle floored it.. Now, having a "No chase Policy" for non-felony/violent crimes, limited the officer to a safe distance instead of chasing and disabling.
About 3-4 miles ahead was an intersection where the officer saw the rear of the vehicle but nothing else until the taillights made a violent lift off the ground and another set appeared spinning like a pinwheel.
Upon arrival, the suspected DWI was standing outside his vehicle completely intoxicated without a scratch on him.. What was left of the minivan was a 3 peices of twisted metal and a family of 4 dead including a 3yr old 11 yr old and the parents..
So, this SOB had the audacity to say "I was almost home".. The victims had just packed up and was on the way to Disney World for thier annual vacation.
The drivers BAC level was .11 he was 18 Years old.. and this would be a 2nd DWI offense.. (Misd) instead he was charged with 4 counts of Vehicluar Manslaughter and Felony evading.
When interviewed the suspect said I often have a "harmless drink" here and there..
Needless to say he was found guilty and sentenced to 50+ years with elegibility for Parol after 30..
The moral of the true story is whne mixing machine and booze there is no excuse! No reason! and no bringing back the dead..
Sorry for the vent but I have seen too many lives being shattered by this type of incident.