Mobile County woman in bicycle crash guilty of DUI
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
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.
https://www.al.com/news/press-registe...800.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."
https://www.al.com/news/press-registe...800.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."
#2
www.chipsea.blogspot.com
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: South of Dallas, Texas
Posts: 1,026
Bikes: Giant OCR C0 road
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
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!
#3
CRIKEY!!!!!!!
Join Date: May 2005
Location: all the way down under
Posts: 4,276
Bikes: several
Mentioned: 37 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1589 Post(s)
Liked 687 Times
in
365 Posts
I'll bet she drove home after posting her bond .....
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?
I hope the cyclists hit her hard for damages.
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?
I hope the cyclists hit her hard for damages.
__________________
"Surely one can love his own country without becoming hopelessly lost in an all-consuming flame of narrow-minded nationalism" - Fred Birchmore
"Surely one can love his own country without becoming hopelessly lost in an all-consuming flame of narrow-minded nationalism" - Fred Birchmore
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Snowy midwest
Posts: 5,391
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
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:
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:
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: south jersey
Posts: 1,207
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
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
by her refusing at police station, she confirmed guilt! refuse to test, you're dwi.
thanks for report, glad you could!
t
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 284
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
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.
#10
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 78
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
You can refuse a breathalyzer test under the 5th amendment; you just can't get back into the car.
An interesting question would be--as bicyclists are unlicensed and thus agreed to no implied consent--could a bicyclist refuse a BAC test?
#11
20+mph Commuter
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Greenville. SC USA
Posts: 7,516
Bikes: Surly LHT, Surly Lowside, a folding bike, and a beater.
Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1434 Post(s)
Liked 331 Times
in
219 Posts
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"
$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
feros ferio
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: www.ci.encinitas.ca.us
Posts: 21,796
Bikes: 1959 Capo Modell Campagnolo; 1960 Capo Sieger (2); 1962 Carlton Franco Suisse; 1970 Peugeot UO-8; 1982 Bianchi Campione d'Italia; 1988 Schwinn Project KOM-10;
Mentioned: 44 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1392 Post(s)
Liked 1,324 Times
in
836 Posts
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.
__________________
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
#14
24-Speed Machine
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Wash. Grove, MD
Posts: 6,058
Bikes: 2003 Specialized Allez 24-Speed Road Bike
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
I found this story today. The woman driving had no license on account of a previous DWI.
https://www.al.com/news/press-registe...800.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."
https://www.al.com/news/press-registe...800.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."
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.
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!!'.
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Snowy midwest
Posts: 5,391
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
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.
#16
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,177
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 117 Post(s)
Liked 71 Times
in
51 Posts
Remember, boys and girls, DRUNK DRIVERS ARE NOT PEOPLE.
#17
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Aberdeen, Scotland
Posts: 482
Bikes: '07 Brompton S6L; '10 Brompton M6R
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
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.
#18
Senior Member
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.
#21
山馬鹿
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Tokyo
Posts: 1,407
Bikes: Nakagawa
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
12 months is a pretty pathetic sentence IMHO
__________________
Become King of the Square! https://kingofthesquares.com
Plan or Find your next ride on Sporra!
Become King of the Square! https://kingofthesquares.com
Plan or Find your next ride on Sporra!
#22
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,184
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
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?
An interesting question would be--as bicyclists are unlicensed and thus agreed to no implied consent--could a bicyclist refuse a BAC test?
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
#23
Gear Hub fan
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Reno, NV
Posts: 2,829
Bikes: Civia Hyland Rohloff, Swobo Dixon, Colnago, Univega
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
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.
#24
BEHOLD! THE MANTICORE!
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: 54914
Posts: 1,796
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times
in
2 Posts
no offense, but where do you live? that's certainly not how things are done in WI