Ontario County Sheriff’s deputies detained a 17-year-old driver on suspicion of DWI after an Oct. 15 accident involving a Penn Yan School District bus. The incident occurred at about 4 p.m., just after the teen’s vehicle purportedly ran a stop sign at the Phelps intersection of Trimble Road and State Route 488.
According to law enforcement officials, the teen’s car struck the school bus, which was carrying a girls’ soccer team to a game in Clifton Springs. Emergency medical personnel evaluated the bus’ occupants at the scene of the crash. Reportedly, there were 21 girls traveling on the bus at the time of the incident, and emergency personnel transported three of them to a Clifton Springs hospital for precautionary measures.
The 17-year-old driver suffered no injuries in the accident, authorities reported. Deputies suspect that the teenager was under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash. In addition to DWI, law enforcement officials are accusing the teenager of reckless driving and passing a stop sign.
In New York, people accused of drunk driving or driving while impaired by drugs may encounter severe consequences if convicted. These may include direct penalties such as license suspension or revocation, steep fines, assorted fees, community service, probation and a jail sentence. They might also include indirect ramifications, such as higher automobile insurance costs and a criminal record. The best way for drivers to obviate these consequences is to mount a defense against the DWI charges.
That begins with retaining a criminal defense attorney. The defense lawyer may critically examine the prosecution’s case as well as the circumstances leading to the DWI detention. If the evidence or police work constituting the prosecution’s case does not pass muster, the defense attorney may argue for the DWI charges to be reduced if not dropped outright.
Source: WHAM, “Teen hits school bus, arrested for DWI”, October 16, 2014