Drunk friend drives drunk parents home, crashes into car
Other driver also drunk
VAN NUYS, Calif.—Three children were turned over to the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services this morning after the van in which they were riding collided with a car in Van Nuys and authorities determined both drivers were drunk, police said.
The children were not properly secured in the van but none were seriously hurt in the accident, which occurred on Van Nuys Boulevard just north of Valerio Street around 12:30 a.m., said Sgt. Don Kelly of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Traffic Division.
The parents of the three children had been drinking and called a friend to drive them home in his van, said Officer R. Shaffer, also of Valley Traffic.
But the friend was also under the influence, as was the driver of the Mustang with which the van collided, Shaffer said.
A 4-month-old girl was in a tub used to wash feet instead of a baby car seat, he said. A 2-year-old boy who had not been placed in a child safety seat suffered a red bruise on his cheek, and a 4-year-old girl sitting between her parents on a back seat had a lump on her left cheek, he said.
The children’s mother had a lump on her head, and both their father and the van driver suffered abrasions, Shaffer said. The Mustang driver was transported by ambulance to a hospital for treatment of more serious injuries, he said.
The two drivers will face DUI charges, Shaffer said.
The investigation was continuing this morning to determine if the parents would be charged with child restraint violations, Kelly said.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—In preparation for this weekend’s planned St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, the Los Angeles Police Department has scheduled a series of DUI/driver’s license checkpoints and saturation patrols citywide.
Tonight’s DUI stops include the following locations, all beginning at 8 p.m. and continuing until 2 a.m.:
• West Los Angeles, Santa Monica Boulevard at Carmelina Avenue;
• North Hollywood, Victory Boulevard at Bellingham Avenue;
For a decade, 0.08 has been the blood alcohol benchmark to consider a driver intoxicated
National Transportation Safety Board would like to see a nationwide 0.05 level
The board would also like to see swifter action on taking away offenders’ licenses
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Former NFL receiver Titus Young remained in jail today for suspicion of breaking into a San Clemente home, his third arrest in a week.
This time, the 23-year-old ex-St. Louis Ram was arrested about 11:30 p.m. Friday in the 3700 block of Calle Casino, where Young fled on foot when officers arrived.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Parents of students at 24th Street Elementary School voted to turn management of the campus over to a partnership between the Los Angeles Unified School District and Crown Preparatory Academy, the charter school company announced today.
The election was conducted after parents at the school submitted petitions under a so-called “parent trigger” law that allows them to decide who should operate a low-performing campus.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Deputies handcuffed singer Bobby Brown and led him from a courtroom to a jail cell Wednesday morning, as Whitney Houston's ex-husband began serving time for a drunken driving conviction.
Although the judge sentenced Brown to 55 days behind bars for his second conviction in a year for driving under the influence, he will likely be free in eight or nine days, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore.
