Mar 4, 2013 | Criminal Defense, DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
A weekend turned sour for four Fort Mill, SC residents. Four people have been arrested for DUI this weekend after York Police Department DUI enforcement effort.
According to the York County Police Chief, officers worked diligently on patrol from 10 p.m. Saturday night, to 5 a.m. Sunday morning in hopes of catching intoxicated drivers. Specifically, one DUI arrest occurred due to an accident caused by the ineibrated driver.
Other citations were issued along with the arrests for other various infractions. The York County Police Chief has commented that due to recent events, and rising numbers in car accidents due to intoxicated drivers, the entire force is trying to “beef up” the DUI enforcement by the end of next month.
According to the police chief, this is due to the overwhelming amount of deaths and crashes occurring because of drunk drivers.
If you or someone you know is facing DUI charges, contact the law offices of Reeves, Aiken, and Hightower to consult with one of our criminal DUI attorneys. Our criminal DUI attorneys handle many types of criminal cases in North and South Carolina. We are licensed in both North and South Carolina, where you can contact us at 704-499-9000 or 877-374-5999 toll-free.
Jan 18, 2013 | Car Accidents, DUI & DWI, Felony DUI, Personal Injury, Uncategorized
Officers are still recovering in the hospital after being struck by impaired drivers in separate incidents at the same location last night.
The first incident happened on Saturday night around 11:30 when two officers from the Providence Division Reinke and Wassenaar were outbound on Independence at Eastway Drive working the scene of a vehicular accident when an intoxicated driver failed to heed the officer’s emergency lights and struck both officers. The second incident happened at about 2:00 a.m. when another office of the Eastway Division was on scene to handle traffic from the previous accident and was struck while in his patrol car by a separate intoxicated driver. Both drivers are being charged with felony serious injury by vehicle and DWI.
Any type of DWI case is a serious matter. Contact the law offices of Reeves, Aiken, and Hightower, LLP to consult with a criminal attorney about any robbery charges. Our DWI attorneys want to help you or someone you might know with his/her DWI case. We also handle other various different types of criminal cases in North Carolina and South Carolina. We are licensed in both North Carolina and South Carolina, where you can contact us at 704-499-9000 or 877-374-5999 toll-free.
Jan 15, 2013 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
An intoxicated Rock Hill man’s pants fell to the ground when authorities confronted him Saturday after he drove his car into a curb before registering a .23 blood alcohol level, police say.
A driver called police to report that a reckless driver in front of them hit a curb at the 700 block of Heckle Boulevard before pulling into a restaurant and then parking in the street’s median, according to a Rock Hill Police report. When officers arrived, the driver, got out the car and stood in front of police. That’s when his pants fell to the ground, the report states. The defendant failed three different field sobriety tests and registered a .23 blood alcohol concentration after a breath test. The legal limit in South Carolina is .08.
Nobody wants to see himself embarrassed in front of his community by having his drunken antics and driving under the influence (DUI) arrest being read in the newspaper by everyone the next morning. Unfortunately, once the person is arrested and charged with DUI, little can be done to stop the public from being kept in the dark on the charges. The assistance of a lawyer can greatly help to mitigate the stress created by the harsh public disdain DUI charges bring by seeking to reach the best possible outcome for the client.
Whatever the case may be, and whatever type of “DUI” you have been charged with, contact the law offices of Reeves, Aiken, and Hightower to have your claim evaluated. We are licesnsed in both North and South Carolina, where you can contact us at 704-499-9000 or 877-374-5999 toll-free.
Jan 13, 2013 | DUI & DWI, Felony DUI, Uncategorized
The York County Sheriff’s Office received a $250,701 grant to start a Driving Under the Influence Enforcement Team, officials announced Friday.
The grant money will pay the salaries of two deputies, along with new patrol cars and equipment, according to sheriff’s officials.
The DUI enforcement team will dedicate all of its time to combat drunk driving in York County. The officers on the team will work closely with other agencies in the 16th circuit law enforcement network participating in programs such as “Sober or Slammer” and “The 100 Deadly Days of Summer.” Team members will also spend time educating the public about impaired driving at public events and schools.
With police officers stepping up their enforcement techniques, it is becoming increasingly important for the average citizen charged with DUI to know their rights under the law. Any person under South Carolina law can be charged with a felony DUI, even if such incident is the first DUI offense charged to that person. Under the S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-2945, “(A) A person who, while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or the combination of alcohol and drugs, drives a motor vehicle and when driving a motor vehicle does any act forbidden by law or neglects any duty imposed by law in the driving of the motor vehicle, which act or neglect proximately causes great bodily injury or death to a person other than himself, is guilty of the offense of felony driving under the influence and, upon conviction, must be punished.”
The penalties for pleading guilty or being convicted under the felony DUI statute are characterized “(1) by a mandatory fine of not less than five thousand one hundred dollars nor more than ten thousand one hundred dollars and mandatory imprisonment for not less than thirty days nor more than fifteen years when great bodily injury results;(2) by a mandatory fine of not less than ten thousand one hundred dollars nor more than twenty-five thousand one hundred dollars and mandatory imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than twenty-five years when death results. A part of the mandatory sentences required to be imposed by this section must not be suspended, and probation must not be granted for any portion.” Based on the final sentence quoted above in the statute, probation is not even an option for any person convicted or pleading guilty to charges under the felony DUI statute in South Carolina, even persons who are first time offenders of the statute. According to the S.C. Code Ann. §56-5-2945(B), great bodily injury as used in the statute includes “protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.” Thus, since the common protracted is commonly thought to mean to prolong or draw out an event or incident, loss of life or limb is not a necessary prerequisite for a finding of guilty under the statute. The victim may fully recover from the injuries suffered at the hands of the defendant, but as long as the victim has an injury that will most likely cause him impairment of one of his bodily parts or organs, a defendant can be convicted under this felony DUI statute and would face some type of mandatory incarceration sentence.
Thus, the role of a lawyer becomes most important to those charged under the South Carolina felony DUI statute. Whatever the case may be, and whatever type of “DUI” you have been charged with, contact the law offices of Reeves, Aiken, and Hightower to have your claim evaluated. We are licesnsed in both North and South Carolina, where you can contact us at 704-499-9000 or 877-374-5999 toll-free.
Jan 7, 2013 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
DWI’s in North Carolina are no longer limited to just “driving while intoxicated;” apparently, after the conclusion in State v. Dellinger in 1985, North Carolina residents can also be charged with a “RWI,” or riding horses while intoxicated. State v. Dellinger, 73 N.C. App. 685 (1985).
I jest of course as the charge being called something different; however the result is the same: if you are caught riding a horse while intoxicated, you can be arrested and charged with a “DWI.” In Dellinger, the defendant was convicted for driving while impaired, based upon his riding of a horse down a secondary street. His blood alcohol concentration was at a 0.18, .10 degrees over the legal limit. The court’s rationale was to apply the same traffic laws to a person riding an animal, or having an animal pull a carriage or any sort of vehicle, should be held to the same standard as those simply driving vehicles. Moreover, the definition of “vehicle,” was left broad by legislature, implicating that horses are vehicles within the meaning of North Carolina’s General Statute 20-138.1, the statute that prohibits impaired driving. N.C. Gen. Stat. 20-138.1(2011).
Subsequently, the legislature acted a few years after the Dellinger conclusion, and made an express determination that a person should not be held to the same standards as one convicted of driving while impaired for riding a horse. The court also tossed around the idea of eliminating bicycles and lawnmowers from the definition of a “vehicle,” as well.
In 2006, the issue was brought to the legislature’s attention again for inactivity, and legislature finally removed “bicycle and lawnmower” from the definition of the prescribed vehicle that can yield the “driver” a DWI.
Oddly however, the legislature did not remove horse riding from the modes of transportation in question. They did not examine and amend the definition which still including horses, as well as failing to repeal North Carolina’s General Statute 20-171, which help aid with definition to begin with. N.C. Gen. Stat. 20-171(2011).
Thus, as of this date, horses (and a presumably other animals) will remain in the definition of “vehicle,” for the purposes of issuing a DWI. Remember not to drink and drive, nor drink and ride according to this strange southern statute.
Whatever the case may be, and whatever type of “DWI” you have been charged with, contact the law offices of Reeves, Aiken, and Hightower to have your claim evaluated. We are licesnsed in both North and South Carolina, where you can contact us at 704-499-9000 or 877-374-5999 toll-free.
Jan 2, 2013 | Car Accidents, DUI & DWI, Personal Injury, Trucking/Tractor-Trailer Accidents, Uncategorized
With the New Year’s Holiday approaching, North Carolina Highway Patrol is urging motorists to bring in the new year safely by refraining from driving while impaired, remembering to wear seat belts and staying focused while on the road.
Last year, North Carolina experienced ten motor-vehicle fatalities between Christmas and New Year’s.
Already, two fatalities have been reported this year as of 11:59 p.m. Christmas day.
North Carolina troopers have investigated a shocking 5,545 collisions attributed to alcohol impairment this year. This number is an unfortunate increase from last year’s total. That’s why it’s more important than ever to ask motorists to practice safe driving techniques while celebrating the New Year. Whether it’s New Year’s eve or any other day of the year, if you are involved in a serious accident, you need competent and experienced representation as you map your most successful path to recovery. Call the Accident Attorneys of Reeves, Aiken, and Hightower at 704-499-9000 or 877-374-5999 toll-free.
