Crime Time

DWI crackdown story riles readers

Readers are fired up about yesterday's story by Staff Writers Melody McDonald and Aman Batheja about "no-refusal" campaign to combat drunken driving this Fourth of July weekend.

Twenty-one police agencies from around Tarrant County will be getting search warrants to force blood draws from suspected drunken drivers who refuse to participate in breathalyzer tests.

In the reader comments section, a couple of people praised the plan, calling it good for public safety.

Many others, however, complain it will be a violation of their rights. One went so far to say that an increase in drunk driving can be blamed on the Bush Administration.

See the comments here. We'll also take your comments in Crime Time.

-- Bill Miller

DWI crackdown scheduled for holiday weekend

Twenty-one police agencies from around Tarrant County will be out in force over the Fourth of July weekend as part of a "no-refusal" campaign to combat drunken driving.

Other counties around the state, including Denton County, are planning similar initiatives during the holiday.

During the crackdown, officers get search warrants to force blood draws from suspected drunken drivers who refuse to participate in breathalyzer tests.

Staff Writer Aman Batheja reports.

A similar effort by Fort Worth police last month netted 21 arrests. Read that story here.

Incredible photo shows driver mowing down cyclists

Some photographs capture a moment in time so dramatically that you want to study every inch of the picture.

This is one of those pictures.

It shows a driver plowing into a group of cyclists Sunday competing in a bicycle race between Playa Bagdad and Matamoros, Mexico. It was taken by a Monterrey city official at the exact moment the car struck the competitors, killing one and injuring 10 others.

Police say the car's driver, Juan Campos, of Brownsville, Texas, was drunk and asleep at the wheel. He's been charged with killing cyclist Alejandro Alvarez, 37, of Monterrey.

-- Lance Murray

-- Photo from the Associated Press

DWIs are never good, but last weekend was really bad

At least two people died, including a 4-year-old girl, in weekend accidents involving allegations of driving while intoxicated.

We say at least two because Dallas police on Monday were getting a blood sample from a man involved in a third wreck overnight in Dallas. They suspect he, too, was drunk behind the wheel.

Kaitlyn Sanchez, 4, of Haltom City died Friday night after the car her father was driving was struck by a driver suspected of being drunk who has three previous DWI convictions, police said.

Officers arrested Marcial Jose Ortega, 38, right, of Fort Worth on suspicion of intoxication manslaughter.

Police have said they might pursue a charge of murder against Ortega, which is rare. Read more here.

Dallas police on Sunday arrested a 17-year-old man on charges of intoxication manslaughter after his car collided with another vehicle driven by German Pichardo, 18, of Dallas.

NBC5i.com reported that Pichardo at about 3 a.m. was exiting onto Ferguson Road from southbound Buckner Boulevard in Dallas when his vehicle was hit. He was transported to the hospital, where he died, NBC5i.com said.

Ramon Gutierrez-Morales, the driver of the other vehicle, was arrested on suspicion of intoxication manslaughter, according to a police report.

Later on Sunday, a man believed to be in his 60s was killed early Monday in Dallas in a wreck that, according to police, was caused by a man who fled from police moments before.

The accident happened around 11:30 p.m. at the intersection of Skillman Avenue and Mockingbird Lane.

Investigators suspect that the driver of the SUV was drunk. He was hospitalized, so they were at the hospital Monday morning getting a blood sample from him, according to police.

If evidence shows he was drunk, he could be charged with intoxication manslaughter, police said. Alternatively, they said, the man could be charged with criminally negligent homicide.

-- Bill Miller

Bedford nurse faces more problems in DWI case

A nurse who police say had a blood alcohol level almost three times the legal limit was once again taken into custody Thursday night after two arrest warrants were issued for her this week.

The warrants stemmed from a Feb. 9 Bedford traffic accident where a driver crashed through barricades and hit two Bedford public works employees.

Lisa K. Cleveland, 41, left, of Bedford, surrendered to Tarrant County authorities Thursday night and she was later released after posting $5,000 bail. She was arrested shortly after the accident on suspicion of intoxication assault.

She was released from jail after posting $2,500 bail.

The incident happened about 1:30 a.m. on Feb. 9 when a Chevrolet Suburban crashed through barricades and critically injured a 26-year-old Bedford public works employee and hit a 49-year-old employee. According to police reports, Cleveland had a blood alcohol level of 0.22.

-- Domingo Ramirez Jr.

911 call captures daughters' wild ride with drunken dad

Here's a gripping television report from Albuquerque television station KOB about two hysterical daughters using a cell phone to call 911, trying to get their drunken father to slow down as he speeds along a New Mexico highway. He reaches speeds of around 100 mph during the call, during which a 911 operator tries to calm the girls. Click the video player to hear the 911 tape.

-- Lance Murray

8-year-old's 911 calls help get mom off the road

Mix one part abnormal behavior with one part erratic driving and what you have is a mom facing charges of driving while intoxicated, police in Washington state say.

And, police say, it was her 8-year-old son making repeated cell phone calls to 911 from a moving car and GPS tracking of the phone that led police to her location.

The full story is here.

-- Lance Murray

Actor faces DWI charge in Michigan

First HBO cancelled his television show about a dysfunctional family of surfers in which he played the title role of John From Cincinnati. Now, actor Austin Nichols has been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Jackson, Mich.

One dead in wreck; driver arrested

Arlington police arrested Michael Derek Reynolds, 19, of Grand Prairie, following a wreck that killed one person and hurt four others in southwest Arlington. He faces an intoxicated manslaughter charge.

-- Bill Miller