3 off duty cops drive wrong way on highway, crash into tractor trailer, guess who got breathalizer?

originally posted by: bobs_uruncle

originally posted by: Anyafaj
2 dead, 2 critical

New York Police Department spokeswoman Deputy Chief Kim Royster said one tractor-trailer swerved out of the way of the car on the West Shore Expressway on Staten Island, but a second didn't have enough time to veer away before the crash. She said the driver of the tractor-trailer passed a breathalyzer test and does not appear to be at fault.

Personally, I like the part I've highlighted in bold. It makes it sound like the first truck driver followed the rules of the road, but the second did not. I am not quite sure what your legal obligations are when it comes to illegally oncoming traffic in your lane heading straight for you, but I am quite sure the common sense thing to do is get out of the way if at all possible. Still, in the creation of an accident, the person driving illegally in the wrong direction would be at fault.

I went through the thread, but didn't notice... has a DUI report come back on the police yet?

Cheers - Dave

So far, not yet Bob. I'll see if I can find other sources to see if they have one, but I doubt it.

a reply to: Anyafaj

It doesn't matter that they were cops. The truck driver would still have had to take a breathalyzer. It's DOT regulation. If anyone is injured, or a vehicle has to be towed the truck driver has 4 hours to take a breath test, and 8 hours to take a drug test regardless of who was at fault.

a reply to: semperfortis

Truck drivers get a breath test and drug test any time a person is injured or a vehicle towed as well.

We get screwed any time there's a accident.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Thanks for the answer to my question. Is that a federal or state regulation?

a reply to: Witness2008

It's Federal DOT regulations for all truck drivers.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Thank you Sir.

originally posted by: semperfortis
a reply to: IslandOfMisfitToys

That's just childish..

I know the procedure because of two things..

I have been in Law Enforcement for 29 years

My wife has been a nurse for 30 years

Maybe we can discuss this as adults?

What's childish?

Since you are so adamant that a blood test is procedure for all involved, I await the toxicology report.

Since you claimed this is SOP then it is up to you to provide the evidence of such claim.

So far you haven't and only made a veiled insult.

a reply to: CraftBuilder

Truck drivers are holders of Commercial Drivers License's or CDL's and are subject to random test at the will of the Department of Transportation, the company they work for, and after any accident what so ever regardless of whether it is the driver at fault.

I drove an armored vehicle and picked up a bag of money at a bank and the dumb clerk put in a dye and teargas pack and it went off in the truck which is pretty air tight so it was rather ugly. First thing the company did was send us to the clinic to get checked out and to pee in a cup...standard procedure and its meant to protect the CDL holder as much as any one else.

No one is saying that test should be done and as has been stated that blood is drawn in any fatal accident from everyone. As for the results, really irrelevant to the story and most likely not back at the time of the report. The driver is dead and doubt results will be made public unless their is a civil trial.

a reply to: DJMSN

Eventually the ones that know what they are talking about show up. Nothing better than real life knowledge.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: Anyafaj

I noticed the article didn't make mention the cops receiving a Breathalyzer though.

They were probably unconscious based on the wreckage in the photo you provided. They would have had their blood drawn at the hospital as protocol.

If you don't draw specifically for an alcohol level, it's inadmissible in court.

An ER doc would do a serum alcohol and a urine tox on any mangled/unconscious patient just to know what they had to deal with on top of the injuries. But to do a serum alcohol for an admissible level requires a witness, typically a LEO, and you have to use a non-alcohol cleaning solution like Betadine, and the sample's got some sort of chain of evidence thing you have to follow - there's a kit for it. So we may know what level the guy was, but you can't introduce it as evidence unless it's gotten a particular way.

And in the case of fellow LEOs, that way won't be followed for...a while. You or me, we'd be getting an ETOH kit right off the bat but somehow it ends up happening hours late in some cases.

BTW, it's said the driver posted this on Instagram several hours before the crash:



eta: MSM says that levels were drawn on everyone, living or dead, so I was wrong about that.

I would assume, and it's strictly an assumption, that if you're posting three drinks and it's three guys, all a yaz are drinking. But we'll see. At any rate, I'm not sure how it really matters in this case if they're cops. It's not like they were in patrol cars or arresting people.

originally posted by: IslandOfMisfitToys

originally posted by: semperfortis
a reply to: IslandOfMisfitToys

That's just childish..

I know the procedure because of two things..

I have been in Law Enforcement for 29 years

My wife has been a nurse for 30 years

Maybe we can discuss this as adults?

What's childish?

Since you are so adamant that a blood test is procedure for all involved, I await the toxicology report.

Since you claimed this is SOP then it is up to you to provide the evidence of such claim.

So far you haven't and only made a veiled insult.

How is somebody supposed to get a copy of the toxicology report for you? Are you family? Law enforcement? A medical professional?

Zaph has already explained the federal regulation regarding why the truck driver was tested. Semper explained why a blood work up would be done.

Demanding you be provided with said tox screen reeks of foot stamping and arm crossing.

a reply to: Shamrock6

Given that the driver at fault was a police officer (public servant) I think that the public should know if the off duty officer was impaired.

originally posted by: Bedlam

BTW, it's said the driver posted this on Instagram several hours before the crash:

Yeah, I was just getting done taking a shower and I heard that same report on the local news.

originally posted by: Bedlam


If you don't draw specifically for an alcohol level, it's inadmissible in court.

An ER doc would do a serum alcohol and a urine tox on any mangled/unconscious patient just to know what they had to deal with on top of the injuries. But to do a serum alcohol for an admissible level requires a witness, typically a LEO, and you have to use a non-alcohol cleaning solution like Betadine, and the sample's got some sort of chain of evidence thing you have to follow - there's a kit for it. So we may know what level the guy was, but you can't introduce it as evidence unless it's gotten a particular way.

And in the case of fellow LEOs, that way won't be followed for...a while. You or me, we'd be getting an ETOH kit right off the bat but somehow it ends up happening hours late in some cases.

BTW, it's said the driver posted this on Instagram several hours before the crash:

eta: MSM says that levels were drawn on everyone, living or dead, so I was wrong about that.

I would assume, and it's strictly an assumption, that if you're posting three drinks and it's three guys, all a yaz are drinking. But we'll see. At any rate, I'm not sure how it really matters in this case if they're cops. It's not like they were in patrol cars or arresting people.

Apparently the same cop also made comments about dropping his "coc aine" in the snow a few weeks ago on Twitter.




He might have been joking of course, or he might have had a real problem. Combine coke with "coke", and you can have a real problem. I hope that is not the case here.

Source

The New York Post reports that the officers did not smell of booze at the hospital but but investigators will likely request a warrant to administer a blood-alcohol test to see if he was intoxicated.

It sounds like because of Union, they have to get a warrant to either draw the blood or get the results of the blood.

No alcohol was found inside the battered vehicle, a police source said, and the NYPD was waiting for the result of blood tests to determine if booze was a factor.

A doctor who treated the critically injured driver noticed no obvious signs of impairment, according to another source.

Linden Police Chief James Schulhafer and Mayor Derek Armstead went to visit the two injured cops, who were both undergoing surgery. The officers all had six years or less on the job, said Sarnicki.

Source

originally posted by: Anyafaj

The New York Post reports that the officers did not smell of booze at the hospital but but investigators will likely request a warrant to administer a blood-alcohol test to see if he was intoxicated.

It sounds like because of Union, they have to get a warrant to either draw the blood or get the results of the blood.

It's a bit late now, innit? How sad that the BAL will be meaningless at this point. I suppose we will never know. Alas.

originally posted by: Witness2008
a reply to: Shamrock6

Given that the driver at fault was a police officer (public servant) I think that the public should know if the off duty officer was impaired.

He was off duty at the time of the incident. Your curiosity about his level of impairment doesn't trump the privacy laws in place. You really have no valid legal reason to know, and using the "public has a right to know" argument is a bit of a reach. You think you have a need to see the medical records of an off duty officer, contact the hospital he's at an explain it to them maybe?

originally posted by: Shamrock6

originally posted by: IslandOfMisfitToys

originally posted by: semperfortis
a reply to: IslandOfMisfitToys

That's just childish..

I know the procedure because of two things..

I have been in Law Enforcement for 29 years

My wife has been a nurse for 30 years

Maybe we can discuss this as adults?

What's childish?

Since you are so adamant that a blood test is procedure for all involved, I await the toxicology report.

Since you claimed this is SOP then it is up to you to provide the evidence of such claim.

So far you haven't and only made a veiled insult.

How is somebody supposed to get a copy of the toxicology report for you? Are you family? Law enforcement? A medical professional?

As pointed out before. There were no qualms in giving out the truck drivers test results. Why the difference? Ever hear of a rhetorical question?

That's what I'm pointing out but to LEO'S it's childish foot stamping?

I call it reality.

Zaph has already explained the federal regulation regarding why the truck driver was tested. Semper explained why a blood work up would be done.

And I'm looking for the test results since they had no qualms giving out the truck driver's results.

But I guess that's childish foot stamping?

Demanding you be provided with said tox screen reeks of foot stamping and arm crossing.

Demanding is a little bit extreme...no? Rhetorical questions is what I call it. It obviously worked too going by the reaction from our resident LEOs.

Source

The men were at the Curves strip club on Arthur Kill Road before the crash, NYPD Deputy Chief Kim Royster said. She said investigators were reviewing surveillance tapes from the club to see if any of the men had been drinking.

The club is less than a mile drive from the expressway, and has access points for both the north- and southbound lanes.

Source

Abad's blood has been drawn, and investigators have applied for a warrant to test his blood-alcohol level, the New York Police Department said.

Video taken by a surveillance camera at a gas station shows a car traveling the wrong way on a service road minutes before the wrong-way crash on the adjacent highway. A southbound exit ramp leads from the highway onto the service road.

Gas station attendant Ramzi Abdelhaq told WABC-TV he's seen cars traveling the wrong direction on the service road before. The time stamp on the video showing the car reads 4:48 a.m. Police received a 911 call of a crash on the highway at 4:51 a.m.

Source

The men got into the crash after leaving Curves Gentleman’s Club, sources said. Investigators were reviewing surveillance video to determine whether the driver had been served any alcohol prior to the crash, the sources added.

The men left the Arthur Kill Road club around 4:45 a.m. Friday before turning onto Bloomingdale Road toward the West Shore Expressway, sources said.

But instead of making a left turn that would have taken them to the northbound lanes toward the Goethals Bridge, Abad mistakenly entered the highway’s exit ramp and began traveling the wrong way in the southbound lanes.

A tractor-trailer driver saw the Civic coming at him and swerved to avoid it. Another trucker also tried to maneuver his big rig, but struck the car’s right side, killing Rodriguez and Viggiano.

Source

In his 37 years working for the department, Sarnicki said, he couldn't remember any officers being killed in the blue-collar refinery town of 41,000 residents just across the water from Staten Island.

"People are in a somber mood. I could see some officers with tears in their eyes. It is an emotional day for all of us. Like I said, we are a family and we're all hurt by this," he said. "It's tragic for people to lose their lives at such an early age, whatever the reason."

a reply to: Bedlam

That could be anything in those shot glasses! like iced tea.... or... iced t.. ya i got nothing.