Top Ten Chicago DUI Stories of 2012 (Part II of II)

Today, we finish the Top 10 most-read Chicago DUI posts of 2012. The first five can be found here.

The remaining five are a mixture of tragedy, DUI defense, and odd science.

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6. Hanin Goma, Drugged Driver that Killed Kid, Indicted

The inevitable happened. Hanin Goma crashed into a van, her car spun out, and then collided with a 9-year-old boy on a bicycle. Goma tested positive for both marijuana and methamphetamines. She admitted to police that she smoked that morning as well. Because even days-old remnants are enough for a drugged driving conviction under Illinois’ strict drugged driving laws, the indictment was a foregone conclusion.

7. What to Do if You are Caught with an Open Container in Chicago

There’s an old concept called the road beer. Nobody wants to be sober between parties. Fortunately or not, open containers in cars are illegal in Illinois, even if it’s the passengers’ or the bottle has been recorked. This post guides you through what you’d face if you, or someone in your car, is rocking the road beer.

8. Fatal DUI Hit-and-Run Driver: I Thought I Hit a Tree

Yep. The award for worst excuse of the year goes to Manikandan Balasubramanian, who killed a pedestrian, took off, and was found in his disabled vehicle in the middle of an intersection. He told police that he thought he’d hit a curb or a tree. Based on that, we wondered whether alcohol was the only substance he’d been consuming.

9. $1 Mill Bail for Matthew Senica, Drunk Driver That Killed Nurse

Matthew Senica expressed remorse at his bail hearing for killing a woman who spent her life saving others in the intensive care unit of a local hospital. It meant little to us, and apparently little to the judge. His bail was set at $1 million, which though higher than usual, was probably influenced by his lengthy history of domestic batteries and prior DUI. He was reportedly under the influence of marijuana, cocaine, opiates, and alcohol at the time of the crash.

10. Type I Diabetes, Restrictive Diets Can Trick Breathalyzer

This odd scientific post comes in tenth on our Top 10 list. It found another reason (besides the ones expressed in our fifth most popular article) why Breathalyzers might just be the worst of the implied consent trifecta of blood, breath, and urine. If you are given a choice between the three, and either have Type I Diabetes or are on a ketogenic diet (super low-carb or sub-1,000 calories), the breath test could trigger a false positive.

And that’s all folks. For the upcoming year, we’d expect more foolishness, tragedy, and in terms of changes to the law, the Supreme Court is set to weigh in on forced blood draws after hearing oral arguments in the case yesterday.

Related Resources:

• Consult a Chicago DUI Defense Attorney (FindLaw)
• The FindLaw Guide to DUI Charges (FindLaw Mini Guides)
• FindLaw for Consumers (Twitter)
• FindLaw for Consumers (Google+)