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

  • US road safety concern over cannabis use
    January 16, 2019
    Concern is being expressed in the US over the correlation between cannabis use and crashes.
    Read More
  • My name is…
    February 27, 2012
    Police in Ireland have finally managed to find out why a Polish driver who had racked up over 50 separate offences had never been caught. One police officer realised that the name written on the paperwork recording each incident meant driving licence in Polish and that the one driver named was in fact 50 different people. Until that point Irish officers had mistakenly written the words Prawo Jazdy, which is printed on the top of a Polish driving licence as being the name of the offending driver. Despite the
    Read More
  • HxGN Live 2014 attracts record event numbers
    August 28, 2014
    Attracting an HxGN Live event record-breaking 3,500 attendees, HxGN Live 2014 held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, US, June 2-5 showcased exciting new and in-demand design, measurement and visualisation technologies for industries including road construction and mining. Themed Great Stories Start Here, this year’s event also included a variety of exclusive presentations by industry experts, hands-on training, inspiring keynotes and international networking opportunities. Guy Woodford reports In
    Read More
  • UK survey finds bad driving makes you less attractive
    August 27, 2015
    Bad driving makes people significantly attractiveness to potential partners, with women finding it especially so, according to a recent UK survey. Many people have wondered if poor driving skills put a dampener on romance and the survey from the Institute of Advanced Motorists appears to confirm this. Bad drivers were found to be 50% less attractive than motorists with good skills.
    Read More

Highlighted Content