DUI Fatal Crashes in Phoenix

Here's a DUI news in Phoenix. Well, this just means that Driving under the influence is really dangerous. Hope, from this experience people will learn their lesson.

Two men have been convicted in separate alcohol-involved crashes.

County Attorney Andrew Thomas announced Friday that Gabriel Burns, 23, was convicted on two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault for the May 2008 crash that killed a Phoenix couple and injured their two small children.

Phoenix police said Burns had a blood-alcohol level of 0.159 percent when he ran a red light at 96 mph and crashed into the victims' car on Mother's Day. Refugio Godinez-Barreto, 51, and Josephina Garcia-Godinez, 42, were killed in the crash.

The couple's children, ages 4 and 10 at the time, were treated at the hospital.
Sentencing for Burns is scheduled for Nov. 18.

Manuel Contreras-Galdean, 33, an illegal immigrant, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of manslaughter and one count of aggravated assault for a November 2008 crash in Mesa, Ariz., that killed 16-year-old Kelly Tracy.

According to Mesa police, Contreras-Galdean failed to yield while making a left turn and crashed into the victims' car. Tracy died at the hospital. Her 17-year-old brother also suffered serious injuries.

Police said Contreras-Galdean admitted to drinking six beers before the crash. His blood-alcohol level was 0.192 percent.

"As these cases show, driving under the influence is dangerous and often carries deadly consequences," said Thomas. "Our office will request tough prison sentences to hold these drivers accountable."

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220 Arrested by DUI TaskForce in Phoenix

PHOENIX July 5, 2009 -- A statewide DUI task force has netted 220 suspected drunk drivers so far over the holiday weekend.The Governor's Office of Highway Traffic Safety said 325 officers and deputies participated in the statewide task force.At least 70 drivers were arrested for extreme DUI, 29 for aggravated driving under the influence and 191 for misdemeanor DUI.At least 19 underage drivers were arrested for DUI.

Since Thursday, various police agencies have made 2,713 traffic stops.Law enforcement officers will be conducting saturation patrols, sobriety checkpoints and youth alcohol enforcement statewide through the weekend.

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Phoenix Mercury's Taurasi gets DUI citation

July 2, 2009. Diana Taurasi, the leading scorer for the Phoenix Mercury basketball team, was cited with driving under the influence in Phoenix early Thursday morning, according to the Phoenix Police Department.

Taurasi, a guard for the team, was pulled over at 2:30 a.m. in the area of Seventh Avenue and Camelback Road, allegedly for speeding and lane violations, police said.

A police officer conducted several field sobriety tests after he first detected the odor of alcohol, the department said.

Officers then drew her blood in a Phoenix Police Mobile DUI van after she refused a breath test, Phoenix police said. She was cited and released.

A news article from azcentral.com.