LANCASTER – A 43-year-old Lancaster woman who admitted to being drunk while driving and wept as she was handcuffed was one of two drivers arrested for DUI at a the sobriety and driver’s license checkpoint in Lancaster on Friday night and early Saturday morning.
Maria Theresa Ayala was arrested around 12:01 a.m. for misdemeanor driving under the influence and booked at the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station on $5,000 bail.
The checkpoint location was eastbound Avenue K at Elm Street and took place from 6 p.m. Friday to 2 a.m. Saturday. Other results of the checkpoint are as follows:
* 1,313 vehicles driven through the checkpoint.
* 211 drivers waived through because of traffic congestion.
* 1,102 drivers screened while in their vehicles.
* 32 citations/arrests for suspended, revoked, or no driver’s license.
* 17 vehicles stored or impounded.
* 27 citations issued for miscellaneous traffic violations in and around the checkpoint.
* Eight drivers required to perform field sobriety tests.
* One arrest for allowing unlicensed driver to drive.
* Three arrests for misdemeanor warrants.
* One arrest for false impersonation of another.
Funding for this checkpoint was provided to Lancaster Station by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
(Information via press release from the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station.)
–
Jim S says
There should be checkpoints every single night of the week. Get the scum off the road!!
Mimi says
OK I am throwing in my 2 cents, lets get to the basics here… Some people blame the bar, some people blame her, some are blaming people at the bar, some are blaming the friends of the person being arrested for drunk driving, People are saying that the deputies are Harassing people, and some people want to say its a racial profiling.. INTERESTING.. But how about this……..
As she was getting dressed , putting on her jeans and the Wonderfully flowered top, great Fashion sense I see…. SHE already knew she was going to be breaking the LAW, why you ask .. Before she even walked out the door, She KNEW she was going out drinking, the person with her knew they were going out drinking.. YET when they get to the bar THEY BOTH order a drink and continue drinking, KNOWING DAMN well she would have to get back in her P.O.S. Car and drive her NOW drunk Butt home.. The responsibility lies with the SO Called Adult getting in their car, and going to bar and choosing to drink in excess , knowing she had NO safe way to get home..
GLAD she has been arrested, hope it cost her a bunch in Court Fees, and Some Humiliation.. Because the alternative to her not being caught that night ,could have resulted in Death for her or some innocent people ..
People its simple, DONT DRINK and DRIVE.. Is it worth your life, or childs life, Or someone’s Mother, Father,Son, Daughter,Your Friends..
javier says
I am willing to that this women never drinks and drives again. This should be a lesson for all of us, if you break the law your image could be forever immortalized in the fine pages of The Antelope Valley Times.
Yo Mama says
Right!!
Wild says
Who said she had to be coming from a bar? She could not possibly have had any drinks at her house or a friends house right?
Yo Mama says
Brains full of mush think like that….
Michelle Egberts says
Who is actually to blame? Is the bar at fault for overserving the patron or is it all on the driver? A person stops being able to make good decisions after so many drinks.
Gladys says
Business owners should not have to babysit adults who have come into their establishment. If someone is going to drink, they should make arrangements to get home that does NOT include getting behind the steering wheel. 21 is the legal drinking age, 16 is the legal driving age. Personal responsibility should come with the territory.
frank rizzo says
Blame other people for your bad descisions? that makes allot of sense. It that what you do? Blame other people for every bad descision you make and your a victim by the system?????
Michelle Egberts says
Actually bars, liquor stores and restaurants that sell and serve alcohol to their patrons bear a social responsibility to provide alcohol such that it does not cause harm to their patrons or to the public-at-large. So do friends who serve them at parties at their homes put their home owners insurance at risk. If a patron is over-served alcohol and then causes a drunk driving accident that results in injury or death, whether to the drunk driver themselves or to another person, the negligent bar or restaurant can be held partially liable for the consequences of the drunk driving accident. California Alcoholic Beverage Control carries stiff penalties for over-serving to an intoxicated patron, suspension and even revocation of liquor license after 3 violations
http://www.abc.ca.gov/trade/Penalty%20Guidelines.pdf
Gladys says
I agree that bars and restaurants should not “over serve” obviously drunk people. However, I do think that people who are drinking need to take more responsibility for their own actions.
The .08 alcohol standard doesn’t always come into play when someone has an alcohol related accident. Too many people turn to the legal system after the fact, to eflect blame and file lawsuits.
Some people are better at hiding their alcohol use than others.
Once again I say, personal responsibility.
Michelle Egberts says
The individual consuming the alcohol is the primary responsible party, but there are secondary parties involved who are just as responsible when they continue to serve the intoxicated individual. The secondary parties are libel under Dram Shop Law http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/dram-shop-laws.html
Thomas says
There is a big difference between too drunk to get behind the wheel and too drunk to care for yourself. The “overserving” reference means that the alcohol level no longer allows a person to function at things such as walking, speaking, and being aware of their surroundings. If someone gets in a car and drives after three drinks they will more than likely be above the legal limit. We as adults need to take responsibility for our actions. We also need to teach the younger generation that they are responsible for their actions. The lets see who we can blame game is wrecking society.
Gladys says
I agree Thomas.
Some people can find a case or some law to backup their point of view when in fact, a little common sense should tell anyone to stop drinking, call a cab, or call a friend.
The blame game seems to be applied to many different situations when someone isn’t willing to accept the responsibility for their own actions.
samuel says
… insult upon our constitution, brazen violation of our civil rights, the gun thugs of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, manning East German style government checkpoints, killing two birds with one stone keeping an eye on our comings and goings, while making another grab, for the traffic ticket revenue — asj.
Thomas says
Three people have been killed in Lancaster in less than a month by drunk drivers. Four families are effected by these collisions. Three due to the loss and one due to a manslaughter trial. Driving is not a right it is a privilege. If someone should not be driving I want law enforcement to stop them. I would much rather have a driver checked at a checkpoint than have a deputy at my door informing me that my loved ones were killed by a drunk driver.
Tired of their ways says
@ Thomas..I agree with you, being on the other side of the door when the deputy showed up to inform me my son was killed by a drunk driver…When a simple check point could have prevented that from happening, I’ll never know…
I want to say to everyone reading this….
Please, don’t let it happen to you..Don’t drink and drive!!!
Mrs M says
A smaller price would be don’t drink and drive. Or get a taxi. Period.
dumbandblind says
First drunk-driving conviction can cost nearly $16,000 in California:
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-drunk-driving-conviction-cost-20130314,0,3164134.story
A small price to pay compared to the magnitude of accidents that these impaired individuals could have caused.
samuel says
… sobriety had nothing to do with it. Of the 59 people cited, only 2 arrested for driving while impaired? That was a garden variety government checkpoint. Not a field sobriety checkpoint — asj.
Thomas says
I talked to a reporter covering a checkpoint and he told me that a lot of the citations are issued for suspended licenses as well as not having the alcohol screening device in their vehicles after being convicted of a dui. Either way they don’t belong on the road.