Is a driving under the influence violation (DUI) the same for everyone? As a counselor for both in-class and online DUI classes I often discuss this question with my students.
A DUI definitely becomes worse if an accident occurs or injuries. If no accident or injury occurs, are all DUIs equally bad? My students and I tend to think no. The consensus is that parents driving in a drunken state with children in the car exacerbates the issue. As reported in www.ajc.com.
Following are two stories that should make any person cringe dealing with this very issue.
The first occurred in Roswell, Georgia, the second in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Concepcion Romero was arrested for driving drunk with her daughter in the car . The 40-year-old was charged with DUI and child endangerment after being stopped for failure to maintain her lane. Making the situation even worse, her 7-year-old daughter was not secured in the back seat. Family members picked up the child at the scene.
Romero refused to take a breath or blood test and was arrested after failing a field sobriety test. The scary thing is that she’s not only putting herself in danger, she’s putting people on the road in danger. She’s also endangering her own child.
Indiana
A Fort Wayne woman has been charged with drunken driving while her five children were in her minivan. The 31-year-old Melissa Wilkinson had children ages 6 to 12 with her when she was arrested Saturday. Court documents show she had a blood-alcohol level of 0.18 percent.
Court documents show Wilkinson was charged with operating a vehicle as a habitual violator and five counts each of operating a vehicle while intoxicated with a passenger under the age of 18 and neglect of a dependent.
Both of these women have serious issues with alcohol if they would place their children’s lives in such danger. I hope both take a 30 hour online alcohol class and choose to never drink and drive again.