Posted on 12/19/2004 8:13:34 AM PST by MississippiMasterpiece
(BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP, N.J.) A man who had been stopped by police on suspicion of drunken driving was killed while being given a sobriety test when a truck plowed into the scene early Saturday morning, authorities said.
When police stopped the driver of the truck less than a mile away they found open containers of alcohol in the vehicle and charged him with driving under the influence, according to prosecutors.
The series of events began just after 2 a.m. when an officer stopped the car of William F. Grieb, 34, of Hamilton Township on Route 130 for suspected drunken driving, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Robert Bernardi.
As the officer was giving Grieb a field sobriety test on the side of the road a tractor-trailer driven by Shane Gildersleeve of Baiatie, N.Y., crashed into the police car which then struck Grieb's vehicle, Bernardi said.
The officer was able to get out of the way but was unable to move Grieb, who died instantly in the collision, according to Bernardi.
Gildersleeve, 40, fled the scene but was stopped just up the road, Bernardi said. He was also charged with several motor vehicle offenses. He was being held Saturday on $10,000 bail.
Yikes!
Good Grief.
The police are at fault regardless of what the man did to get stopped. When you are stopped, it is the responsibility of the officer to ensure your safety. If I were on a civil jury, the local police/township would pay heavily to the deceased's family.
For the officer's sake, I hope he was doing everything by the book. If not, I smell a lawsuit. Even a drunk driver should't die while in custody.
And the drunk semi driver would get off scott free, no doubt.
The sheer irony of DWI checkpoints...
Seems too little for such a serious offense.
Not too far from my house.
I think it goes without saying that Gildersleeve is in big trouble. Depending on his record and what his company knew about him, they may be in trouble too.
Nope...The police almost always park with two wheels in the driving lane...This apparently is to force drivers in that lane to move to the other lane to afford the cop a safety area...Not always a practical maneuver...
Just when you think your night can't get any worse....
A drunk driver runs down a suspected drunk driver while driving drunk.
Weird, and strangely ironic in a twisted sort of way.
Just for the record, they need to do an alcohol test on the dead driver's blood.
Yes, this is true.
Reason why I said "Suspected" drunk driver ot run down.
We don't know if he was buzzed or not yet.
But still... just damn.
The most important thing to learn in life is how to recite the alphabet backwards 'cause the cops always ask you to do that before they make you stand on one foot while reading from the phone book with one eye closed in the dark. It ought to be taught in schools or, at least, in Drivers' Ed class. When they ask you to recite the alphabet backwards, the appropriate response should be, "You first", but I'm sure that would result in your immediate arrest.
And, don't beat me up here - I'm not a drunk driver, but I do have some memories of a misspent youth.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.