HN VIDEO: 57-year-old man taken into custody after unsteady FSTs…
CENTERVILLE – As you will see in the following HN Video, two Barnstable Patrolmen responded to Park Avenue at the intersection with Henry Pl. last evening for a report that a car had rolled into a tree…
Upon arrival, officers observed an uninvited Honda CRV in someone’s front yard.
Officers conducted several FSTs (Field Sobriety Tests) which the 57-year-old driver apparently failed miserably.
The unsteady driver was taken into custody and transported back to BPD Headquarters.
Official charges have not yet been released (but one can take a wild guess as to what they will be…) and HN will provide updates as they become available.
The following HN Video highlights the scene…
[PRESS PLAY]
HN NOTE: Every year during the “Holiday Season” – and as time permits – HN makes an effort to document all suspected cases of impaired or drunk driving. HN will typically film field sobriety testing whenever possible. This is because impaired and/or drunk driving is one of the single most deadliest crimes that directly jeopardizes our local community on a daily basis.
According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “every day, 28 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This is one death every 51 minutes. The annual cost of alcohol-related crashes totals more than $44 billion.”
How big is the problem in the U.S.?
In 2015, 10,265 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (29%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States. (According to the CDC)
In 2015, nearly 1.1 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. That’s just one percent of the 111 million self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year. (CDC)
Drugs other than alcohol (legal and illegal) are involved in about 16% of motor vehicle crashes. (CDC)
Marijuana use is increasing and 13% of nighttime, weekend drivers have marijuana in their system. (CDC)
Marijuana users were about 25% more likely to be involved in a crash than drivers with no evidence of marijuana use, however other factors – such as age and gender – may account for the increased crash risk among marijuana users. (CDC)
Many these days tend to worry about deadly crimes such as terrorism and mass shootings, etc… (as one should)
… but in reality, one is more likely to be slaughtered by a drunk or impaired driver. And according to the CDC, one is just as likely to be killed by a motor vehicle as they are by gun violence…
* Having said all that, all impaired and drunk driving suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
As much as possible, HN intends to document these very serious crime investigations.
Please do not put innocent lives at risk by drinking and driving… or drugging and driving.
And please have a very sensible, safe, and splendiferous Holiday Season!
