January 2016 | Steven E. Kellis

Month: January 2016

Wild Wrong-Way DUI Crash Caught on Video

Posted by Steven E. Kellis on January 20, 2016

A man in Penn Township was recently arrested on a driving under the influence when he caused a wreck going the wrong way on the highway. The man, Jonathan Lukart, is from Trafford and was driving on Route 130 early morning last week when he caused the crash.

The entirety of the crash, including about a minute of erratic driving, was caught on video by a passenger in the car behind Lukart. For that minute, the two men in the car behind can be heard on the video talking about how the car in front of them was going to crash. The driver also laid on his horn for several seconds to warn Lukart that he was on the wrong side of the road.

For those familiar with Penn Township, the man started recording the video when Lukart was near S and T Bank across from Pleasant Valley Road. They continued recording until the accident happened right before Lucci’s Restaurant.… Read More

Pot Breathalyzer Coming Soon?

Posted by Steven E. Kellis on January 13, 2016

Fifteen years ago, if you would have said nearly half of all states will legalize medical marijuana, you likely would have been laughed at. Even five years ago, using marijuana recreationally was illegal nationwide. Now, you can smoke weed legally in 5 different states. Philadelphia is also taking a pro-marijuana stance, decriminalizing possession of a small amount and reducing the fine to just $25.

Yet, whether you are in a state like Pennsylvania that bans marijuana use altogether or in a state like Colorado with full legalized use, one thing remains the same: driving high is still considered driving under the influence. Yet, the active ingredient in pot, THC, can remain in your system for months after use. As such, field tests are anything but accurate. Researchers are working on fixing this problem.

A Case of Bad Breath

Hound Labs, based in Oakland, California, say they have found a way to determine whether a driver has smoked weed recently.… Read More

A Look at Auto-Brewery Syndrome

Posted by Steven E. Kellis on January 6, 2016

There have been stories all over the news recently about a woman who, a year after being arrested for DUI, had her charges dropped because she suffered from “auto-brewery syndrome.” While she originally had a blood alcohol content over four times the legal limit, the judge ruled she was not at fault for it. Her condition makes her body itself create alcohol; she doesn’t have to have a drop to drink in order to become drunk.

On the day of her arrest, she met her husband for drinks and food. She consumed four drinks over the course of six hours. In combination with food, the average person would not feel intoxicated after that. However, the way she was driving, it would seem she had consumed a gallon of alcohol before getting behind the wheel. She blew a tire on her way home, and an observer called the police to assist her when they noticed she was struggling to change it.… Read More