Record sentence for driving offence?

In the US a jury awarded a man some US$22 million as reparation following his arrest for suspected drink driving. The payout was made as the man was mistakenly kept in solitary confinement after the arrest and was then kept for two years behind bars. The man was arrested in New Mexico and charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, aggravated driving while under the influence of alcohol, driving with a suspended licence, possession of an open container of alcohol in a vehicle and improper use of registrati
October 9, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
In the US a jury awarded a man some US$22 million as reparation following his arrest for suspected drink driving. The payout was made as the man was mistakenly kept in solitary confinement after the arrest and was then kept for two years behind bars. The man was arrested in New Mexico and charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, aggravated driving while under the influence of alcohol, driving with a suspended licence, possession of an open container of alcohol in a vehicle and improper use of registration. But the case was not resolved for two years, when he was finally discharged as being incompetent rather than dangerous. During his stay behind bars he was even refused dental treatment, resulting in him having to pull out his own tooth. The authorities responded to the award for damages by pointing out that the man’s arrest record is 26 pages long and appealed against the jury’s verdict.

Related Content

  • Giving four hours back to the day… and much more
    October 7, 2019
    A 20km long elevated expressway in Dhaka will be one of Bangladesh’s first Public Private Partnership transport projects – words and pictures by Ruby Kitching, on behalf of Mott MacDonald.
    Read More
  • Safer highway containment continues to grow
    March 8, 2012
    A steady flow of new technology and systems is ensuring the highway barrier sector is seeing major gains in safety. Mike Woof reports A combination of technological development and tougher regulations are ensuring a constant flow of new safety barrier solutions for the highway sector. Issues such as containment and deflection are high on the technical agenda, while a wide array of technologies is being developed to meet specific needs for certain applications. Both in the US and Europe, an increased focus o
    Read More
  • Developments in concrete road construction
    February 7, 2012
    Innovative developments are pushing forward concrete road construction techniques. The concrete road sector looks to benefit from some key innovations and developments now coming to market or being employed in different territories. Irregular weather and environmental conditions can alter the rate at which concrete cures, with a risk of plastic shrinkage cracks that can compromise the integrity of a pavement. Contractors cannot control the environmental conditions of a paving project and when weather patter
    Read More
  • Philipp Swarovski lays down the marker
    June 10, 2019
    Swarco’s chief operating officer Philipp Swarovski shares his thoughts on highway safety and infrastructure in an age of uncertain future needs. David Arminas reports It was in Austria in 1969 when Manfred Swarovski opened his first glass bead factory. Five years later, operations started in the US. As the years rolled by there followed acquisitions and expansion of manufacturing facilities as well as a shift into intelligent transportation systems globally. Fast forward to 2019 and the family compan
    Read More

Highlighted Content