Advocacy & Safety - Mobile County woman in bicycle crash guilty of DUI

I found this story today. The woman driving had no license on account of a previous DWI.

http://www.al.com/news/press-register/metro.ssf?/base/news/1227262611230800.xml&coll=3

Quote:
"Mobile County woman in bicycle crash guilty of DUI
Friday, November 21, 2008
By GARY McELROY
Staff Reporter
On an early August morning this summer, Jeff Conrad was gliding along on his bicycle at 17 mph, he told a Mobile judge Thursday, when his speed suddenly neared 40.

A few seconds later he had a bad case of road rash, his $500 competition racing bike was a total loss and the woman who sent him flying was standing outside her vehicle, cursing him and smelling of alcohol, he said.

During her Thursday trial before Mobile Municipal Judge Shelbonnie Hall, 31-year-old Charity Eiland acknowledged striking Conrad with her car, but denied be ing drunk or cursing the bicyclist.

Hall nonetheless found Eiland guilty of DUI in the Aug. 20 incident — her second DUI conviction — and sentenced the restaurant worker to 12 months in jail. Eiland was taken into custody, but was allowed to post an appeal bond.

According to Conrad and his riding companion, Joshua Payne, it was about 6 a.m. and they were just passing the Heron Lakes Country Club on Government Boulevard when Eiland's SUV pushed Payne and his bike aside and shoved Conrad and his bike ahead of her.

Neither man was seriously injured.

During questioning by city prosecutor Ed Smeltzer, they said that Eiland cursed them for riding their bikes in the roadway, telling them it was against the law. Cyclists are permitted by law to ride on most roadways, including Government Boulevard.

She then handed one of them an insurance card and tried to leave, the bikers tes tified, but they prevented it and shortly afterward police arrived.

Officers testified that they, too, smelled alcohol on her breath. Eiland failed several field sobriety tests, Hall was told, and then refused to take a breath test after she was transported to police headquarters.

She had no drivers license because it had been lifted in the wake of a 2007 DUI, according to testimony.

Defense attorney Jeff Deen questioned Conrad about what kind of safety devices he had on the bike for riding in the dark. Conrad said his bike was lit up from front to back with blinking lights and reflectors.

It may have been Eiland's own testimony that sealed her fate, however.

She said she had gotten off work the night before at a seafood restaurant and gone out drinking with friends at a Saraland bar, where she consumed six beers and a shot of liquor called a "red snapper."

She spent what was left of the night at a friend's home, she said, finishing off the evening with one more beer and getting less than three hours of sleep before heading home. That's when she hit the cyclists.

Eiland said she had nothing to drink "that morning" and "thought I did fine" on the field tests the arresting officer gave her."

I hope the local police have the authority to seize the vehicle that was driven by this woman. She is obviously not deterred from driving simply because she is short a driver's license!

I'll bet she drove home after posting her bond :notamused:.....

And about that bond, how is it that you're convicted and the judje sentences you to jail time yet you can post a bond and walk! WTF? :eek:

I hope the cyclists hit her hard for damages.

Wow, a year in jail. That's a long time in jail. A lot of life is going to leave her behind in that year she is taken out of society.

Can you imagine how drunk you have to be to hit a bicyclist? Even if the bicyclists are going slower than traffic, that is like hitting a parked car. hic.

Good thing the bicyclists weren't killed and were well-enough to stop her from driving and to call the police.

The great irony of it is that Ms. Charity Eiland (the drunk driver) is the one who should have been on the bicycle rather than in a car.

Wouldn't it be an unusual and cool thing if victim Jeff Conrad met Ms. Eiland upon her exit from jail and gave her a bicycle and some lessons on bicycle commuting.


This is what the drunk-driving, car/bicycle crasher looks like:

http://blog.al.com/live/2008/08/eiland.jpg

The great irony of it is that Ms. Charity Eiland (the drunk driver) is the one who should have been on the bicycle rather than in a car.

This is what I thought the article was about; that someone already cycling due to a DUI was involved in a bike crash.

This is what I thought the article was about; that someone already cycling due to a DUI was involved in a bike crash.

I suppose a drunk bicyclist hit by a sober motorist would be a twist, but I am sure that has happened before too.

why was there no at site sobriety check? was there ability to offer?
by her refusing at police station, she confirmed guilt! refuse to test, you're dwi.
thanks for report, glad you could!
t

why was there no at site sobriety check? was there ability to offer?
by her refusing at police station, she confirmed guilt! refuse to test, you're dwi.
thanks for report, glad you could!
t


From the article

Eiland failed several field sobriety tests

why was there no at site sobriety check? was there ability to offer?
by her refusing at police station, she confirmed guilt! refuse to test, you're dwi.
thanks for report, glad you could!
t

I'm not sure, but I think that's untrue. You can refuse a breathalyzer test under the 5th amendment; you just can't get back into the car.

You can refuse a breathalyzer test under the 5th amendment; you just can't get back into the car.

No. Called "Implied consent," you agreed to it in writing when you got your license. Basically, you agreed to submit to testing--usually blood, breath, or urine--when asked, and if you DON'T submit, then you are punished as if you'd had the highest BAC% punishable at the time of the arrest.

An interesting question would be--as bicyclists are unlicensed and thus agreed to no implied consent--could a bicyclist refuse a BAC test?

12 months in the clink! Awesome.

$500 competition racing bike? Did they miss a zero? The editor/proofreader probably thought a $5000 bike was a typo and changed it to $500.

"his $500 competition racing bike was a total loss"

12 months in jail is a good start, but it is not a stiff enough penalty, given that she was already driving on a suspended (revoked?) license. When she gets out on parole in 8 months, she'll probably get right behind the wheel.

A 60" tall Oompa-Loopa

I found this story today. The woman driving had no license on account of a previous DWI.

http://www.al.com/news/press-register/metro.ssf?/base/news/1227262611230800.xml&coll=3

Quote:
"Mobile County woman in bicycle crash guilty of DUI
Friday, November 21, 2008
By GARY McELROY
Staff Reporter
On an early August morning this summer, Jeff Conrad was gliding along on his bicycle at 17 mph, he told a Mobile judge Thursday, when his speed suddenly neared 40.

A few seconds later he had a bad case of road rash, his $500 competition racing bike was a total loss and the woman who sent him flying was standing outside her vehicle, cursing him and smelling of alcohol, he said.

During her Thursday trial before Mobile Municipal Judge Shelbonnie Hall, 31-year-old Charity Eiland acknowledged striking Conrad with her car, but denied be ing drunk or cursing the bicyclist.

Hall nonetheless found Eiland guilty of DUI in the Aug. 20 incident — her second DUI conviction — and sentenced the restaurant worker to 12 months in jail. Eiland was taken into custody, but was allowed to post an appeal bond.

According to Conrad and his riding companion, Joshua Payne, it was about 6 a.m. and they were just passing the Heron Lakes Country Club on Government Boulevard when Eiland's SUV pushed Payne and his bike aside and shoved Conrad and his bike ahead of her.

Neither man was seriously injured.

During questioning by city prosecutor Ed Smeltzer, they said that Eiland cursed them for riding their bikes in the roadway, telling them it was against the law. Cyclists are permitted by law to ride on most roadways, including Government Boulevard.

She then handed one of them an insurance card and tried to leave, the bikers tes tified, but they prevented it and shortly afterward police arrived.

Officers testified that they, too, smelled alcohol on her breath. Eiland failed several field sobriety tests, Hall was told, and then refused to take a breath test after she was transported to police headquarters.

She had no drivers license because it had been lifted in the wake of a 2007 DUI, according to testimony.

Defense attorney Jeff Deen questioned Conrad about what kind of safety devices he had on the bike for riding in the dark. Conrad said his bike was lit up from front to back with blinking lights and reflectors.

It may have been Eiland's own testimony that sealed her fate, however.

She said she had gotten off work the night before at a seafood restaurant and gone out drinking with friends at a Saraland bar, where she consumed six beers and a shot of liquor called a "red snapper."

She spent what was left of the night at a friend's home, she said, finishing off the evening with one more beer and getting less than three hours of sleep before heading home. That's when she hit the cyclists.

Eiland said she had nothing to drink "that morning" and "thought I did fine" on the field tests the arresting officer gave her."

I am so glad, that she will be off the road for an extended period of time.

Her 2007 DUI must have been pretty severe, for her license to get yanked since, this was only her second conviction and, it was yanked on her first conviction.:thumb:

Check List:
1. headlight and tail-light, 2. rearview mirror, 3. reflective vest, 4. Brakes! make sure the brakes work on the bicycle! , 5. a horn and bell. , 6. Stop, look, and listen, when coming to an intersection. LOOk both ways before crossing the street. , 7. Right Size? is the bicycle the right size for the rider? , 8. Wear a helmet.

On the checklist the OP has at the bottom of his message, I don't do #'s 2 and, 5.

I don't do #2 because, it is easier for me to use my peripheral vision to look at the traffic behind me, by making a quick turn of my head.

I don't do #5 because, the traffic won't hear it and, pedestrians will get scared by it. My alternative is a loud(I know it is rude, but it works) 'AHEM!!'.

12 months in jail is a good start, but it is not a stiff enough penalty, given that she was already driving on a suspended (revoked?) license. When she gets out on parole in 8 months, she'll probably get right behind the wheel.

12 months might not seem like a lot, but in these parts you can sell heroin to school kids an even commit murder and not get as much as 12 months (no exaggeration).

I have never been to prison, but I have visited one and I wouldn't want to spend an afternoon in one, much less a year. Yeesh!

Sadly, though, history suggests that a DUI offender released from prison will go right back to the booze/drug. I know a guy who spend almost four months in jail for an alchohol related automobile accident. He was drunk within 1.5 hours of his release. Apparently, it is difficult to comprehend the power of addiction.

12 months in jail is a good start, but it is not a stiff enough penalty, given that she was already driving on a suspended (revoked?) license. When she gets out on parole in 8 months, she'll probably get right behind the wheel.Time for a "Clockwork Orange" solution--some kind of implanted electronic chip that could induce grand mal siezures if the critter ever tries to drive a car again.
Remember, boys and girls, DRUNK DRIVERS ARE NOT PEOPLE.

DRUNK DRIVERS ARE NOT PEOPLE.

That's precisely the kind of thinking that lets them do it again, and again and again. Drunk drivers ARE people, they need to be TREATED, EDUCATED, need to recognise that cyclists are people, that other people are people, that we all have the same rights and responsibilities.

The Oakland, Ca PD ran a sting, I think last week. They staged in traffic court, then when people that had their licenses yanked drove away from the parking lot, they seized their cars and ticketed them. Don't know if they were actually arrested.

The Oakland, Ca PD ran a sting, I think last week. They staged in traffic court, then when people that had their licenses yanked drove away from the parking lot, they seized their cars and ticketed them. Don't know if they were actually arrested.
That's great--caught 'em red handed.

And about that bond, how is it that you're convicted and the judje sentences you to jail time yet you can post a bond and walk! WTF? :eek:

She was allowed to post an appeal bond.

12 months is a pretty pathetic sentence IMHO

No. Called "Implied consent," you agreed to it in writing when you got your license. Basically, you agreed to submit to testing--usually blood, breath, or urine--when asked, and if you DON'T submit, then you are punished as if you'd had the highest BAC% punishable at the time of the arrest.

An interesting question would be--as bicyclists are unlicensed and thus agreed to no implied consent--could a bicyclist refuse a BAC test?

I'm certain laws vary from state to state on this question, but, in states where BUI is on the books as a punishable offense and implied consent is also in effect, then, a cyclist with a drivers license would probably be found to have breached that implied consent provision. Note that implied consent, where it exists, is related to your driver's license, not the license that comes with the vehicle registration.

I would assume the situation would be less clear if the cyclist was not a licensed driver (having never held a license), since he/she would never have signed anything to document implied consent.


It would be interesting (and probably quite expensive) to see such a case work its way through the legal system. I've read online accounts of at least one case where a cyclist whose driving privileges had been suspended due to DUI fought a subsequent BUI charge in court. As I recall, the case ended with a plea agreement to a lesser charge.

Personally, I would advocate for some sort of ignition interlock on all vehicles, but that solution would kill the DUI industry as we know it, and there are plenty who don't want that to happen.

Caruso

Even 35 years ago in Germany a first DUI was good fo 1 year loss of license, a fine of one months pay and 90 days in jail or doing community service I was told when visiting there. And that was w/o hitting anyone/anything. Much worse if involved in an accident.

As far as I am concerned a DUI with injury or death to a person should be attempted murder or Murder 1. The driver made the decision to drink and drive. To me that is tantamount to premeditation in commiting the crime.

As far as I am concerned a DUI with injury or death to a person should be attempted murder or Murder 1. The driver made the decision to drink and drive. To me that is tantamount to premeditation in commiting the crime.

Its called manslaughter. To be murder or attempted murder, you have to go out with the INTENT to kill, not just know the possibility is there. Most charges in common law systems are based on intent.



Personally, I would advocate for some sort of ignition interlock on all vehicles, but that solution would kill the DUI industry as we know it, and there are plenty who don't want that to happen.
Caruso

I think it would be better if it was mandatory if a person got 5+ years of using interlock upon their first DWI or something to that effect. Why should someone like myself, who's never had so much as a sip of alcohol in their 25 years of life, deal with the bother and expense of this? What we really need is more education and better driver's ed. I think when I did driver's ed. the instructor spent about 5 minutes on drunk/impaired driving. It has been repeatedly proven, since psychology has been a known discipline, that negative reinforcement does not work anyhow. Plus, all a drunk would have to do is get someone else to blow into it. Happens all the time.



12 months might not seem like a lot, but in these parts you can sell heroin to school kids an even commit murder and not get as much as 12 months (no exaggeration).


no offense, but where do you live? that's certainly not how things are done in WI