Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

Leandra’s Law charges have been filed against a Portville man accused of driving under the influence with his 1-year-old and 5-year-old children in the vehicle when he crashed the vehicle. Police say 25-year-old Shane Rice crashed the vehicle early Tuesday morning in Seneca Avenue in Olean. Rice and the children were taken to Olean General Hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries. Besides aggravated DWI, Rice was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and driving without a license. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

An Olean man is charged with a Leandra’s Law violation and for failure to pay child support after crashing into a concrete barrier near Exit 23 on Interstate 86 Saturday afternoon. Sheriff’s deputies say 38-year-old Bradley Fluent was on the road between exits 21 and 23, which is closed for construction. An 8-year-old passenger was hurt in the crash and was taken to Bradford Regional Medical Center for treatment. Besides the felony driving while intoxicated and child support charges, Fluent is charged with unlicensed operation of a vehicle and disobeying a traffic control device. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Limestone man who was driving drunk at more than 100 mph with a child in his car has pleaded guilty in Cattaraugus County Court. 32-year-old Donald Watson Jr. was driving at 127 mph in the Town of Carrollton on November 10 of last year with a blood alcohol content nearly twice the legal limit. He had a child younger than 15 with him, which made it a Leandra’s Law violation. Watson also pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance for possessing and selling a narcotic drug on July 19, 2012, in Salamanca. He is scheduled for sentencing on September 15. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Findley Lake man is accused of driving at nearly 100 mph while he was drunk with a child in the car. 36-year-old James Spitale was allegedly driving 94 mph in a 65 mph zone near Bemus Point at about 6:30 Sunday evening when state troopers stopped him. He failed several field sobriety tests and, because he had a conviction for driving while intoxicated within the last 10 years, was charged with a felony He also had a child younger than 16 in the car, which is a violation of Leandra’s Law. Another passenger in the car was a woman who has an active order of protection against him. Besides the driving while intoxicated charges, Spitale is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and criminal contempt. He’s jail on $2,500 bail. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Harrisburg -- Legislation sponsored by Senate Transportation Committee Chairman John Rafferty (R-Montgomery) to crack down on drunk drivers who put minors at risk has been signed into law. Act 39 of 2012 increases penalties for drunk drivers who have a minor in the vehicle with them when the violation occurs. The maximum fine for a first offense will be $1,000 and 100 hours of community service. A second offense will carry a maximum fine of $2,500 and imprisonment of up to six months. Drivers convicted of subsequent offenses can be jailed for up to two years. Fines and imprisonment required under the new law will apply on top of previously enacted penalties. "It's bad enough that drunk drivers endanger themselves and others on the road. Enactment of this law sends that message that putting a child at risk through such reckless behavior is unconscionable and will not be tolerated," said Rafferty. New York already has similar legislation called Leandra’s Law. The news l...

A Dunkirk man who crashed his motorcycle last month while he was driving drunk with an 8-year-old passenger is now facing a charge of vehicular assault. 40-year-old Andrew Johnson ran into the back of a vehicle that was stopped at a stop sign on July 25, throwing both him and the 8-year-old on to the road. The child was taken to Children’s Hospital in Buffalo for treatment of his injuries. Sheriff’s deputies originally charged Johnson with driving while intoxicated and a Leandra’s Law violation, but after reviewing the seriousness of the boy’s injuries added the vehicular assault charge. Johnson was sent to jail in lieu of $2,000 cash bail.

A provision of New York’s Leandra’s Law went into effect Sunday, and requires that anyone convicted of drunk driving to install ignition interlock systems in their cars. The devices are connected to ignition systems and measure the alcohol in a driver's breath. If the driver's blood alcohol content measures anything over .03, the ignition is disabled. The interlocks have to be installed for at least six months. They can be left in up to three years for a misdemeanor, five years for a felony. The other part of Leandra’s Law makes drunk driving an automatic felony if a child under 16 is in the car. Paterson signed this law on November 18, 2009, less than six weeks after 11-year old Leandra Rosado died from injuries sustained when the SUV she was riding in – driven by a woman who was allegedly drunk– crashed on the Henry Hudson Parkway in Manhattan. The driver of the SUV recently pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges. The advocacy of Neil and Jennifer Flynn led to passage of legi...