Smashed: The toll of driving drunk in Minnesota
Tougher DWI law
Minnesota raising the stakes for drunken drivers
On July 1, tougher punishment will become law, targeting people such as Paul Garay, recently jailed on his 20th DWI. Updated May. 31, 2011
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In Minnesota, drunken drivers who kill someone with their car sometimes get less time behind bars than nonviolent offenders. Public safety advocates say it's part of a culture of forgiveness surrounding drunken driving, a social problem that killed 893 people on Minnesota roads in the past five years. Read the Star Tribune's in-depth look at the scourge of drunken driving, the victims it claims and the public safety questions it raises.
Briana Klindworth's father, Keith Klindworth.
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DWI drivers who kill can get off easy
Article By: PAM LOUWAGIE and GLENN HOWATT ,Star Tribune s taff w riters Publish March 21, 2010 2:00 AM / Update March 24, 2010 9:48 AMIn nearly 60 percent of cases calling for four years in prison, drivers serve a year or less in jail.
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Ann Marie Martinson
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Fatal mistakes: First DWI
Article By: PAM LOUWAGIE , Star Tribune Publish February 14, 2010 2:00 AM / Update February 15, 2010 10:44 AMA majority of alcohol-related fatalities involve first-time offenders.
Danny Lee Bettcher
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Drink, drive, arrest, repeat
Article By: PAM LOUWAGIE , Star Tribune Publish January 24, 2010 2:00 AM / Update January 24, 2010 3:23 PMIn Minnesota, 46,748 drivers have at least 4 DWI arrests. They form a dangerous group that's hard to treat or punish.
Woody Lee
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Minnesota lives derailed by drunk drivers
Article By: CHAO XIONG , Star Tribune Publish February 10, 2010 2:00 AM / Update April 26, 2011 4:43 PMThose injured by drunken drivers say the emotional and physical costs are lifelong. Over the last decade, more than 37,000 Minnesotans were injured in alcohol-related crashes.
Briana Klindworth's father, Keith Klindworth.
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DWI drivers who kill can get off easy
Article By: PAM LOUWAGIE and GLENN HOWATT , Star Tribune s taff w riters Publish March 21, 2010 2:00 AM / Update March 24, 2010 9:48 AMIn nearly 60 percent of cases calling for four years in prison, drivers serve a year or less in jail.
Danny Lee Bettcher
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Drink, drive, arrest, repeat
Article By: PAM LOUWAGIE , Star Tribune Publish January 24, 2010 2:00 AM / Update January 24, 2010 3:23 PMIn Minnesota, 46,748 drivers have at least 4 DWI arrests. They form a dangerous group that's hard to treat or punish.
RENEE JONES SCHNEIDER � reneejones@startribune.com Holdingford, Minn. - 01/05/10 ] Sherrie DeZurik kissed a childhood photograph of her son Ryan who was killed this summer by a drunk driver. Ryan, 19, was driving home from work when a man driving a Hummer H2 with a blood alcohol level of .346 crashed into his car killing him instantly.
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Drunk driving's toll: One family's story
Article By: Renee Jones Schneider , Publish / Update January 20, 2010 12:47 PM19-year-old Ryan DeZurik died in August 2009 when a drunk driver hit him on his way home from work. His family talks about his life and death.
Ann Marie Martinson
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Fatal mistakes: First DWI
Article By: PAM LOUWAGIE , Star Tribune Publish February 14, 2010 2:00 AM / Update February 15, 2010 10:44 AMA majority of alcohol-related fatalities involve first-time offenders.
Adam Gadach
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Army of tragedy confronts DWIs
Article By: CURT BROWN , Star Tribune Publish March 2, 2010 2:00 AM / Update March 2, 2010 6:09 AMSome are victims, others are offenders or relatives. Every day, countless volunteers speak up, with tears and bitter grief, trying to "change the world."
Carla Cincotta and Scott Mueller
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Cutting off the tap to drunks is a messy business
Article By: CURT BROWN , Star Tribune Publish March 27, 2010 2:00 AM / Update March 26, 2010 8:44 PMIt's illegal for bars to serve drunken people, but enforcing the law is incredibly difficult, state and local authorities are finding out.
Carmen Huertas
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Minnesota vs. deadly DWIs: Who's winning?
Article By: RICHARD MERYHEW , Star Tribune Publish April 14, 2010 2:00 AM / Update March 30, 2011 4:50 PMMinnesota gets high marks among states for enforcement, but not for punishment.
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State lawmaker caught driving wrong way on 35W
Article By: Roseville Police Department , Publish / Update March 22, 2011 3:52 PMFormer State Representative and Senator Phillip Riveness is caught on tape driving the wrong way on I-35W in December, 2009. Roseville police ended the chase by causing Riveness' car to spin out. Riveness pleaded guilty to driving under the influence.
RENEE JONES SCHNEIDER � reneejones@startribune.com Fergus Falls, Minn. - 01-14-10 ] Danny Lee Bettcher spoke about his 27 DWI's from the Otter Tail County Jail moments after being sentenced to 48 months in prison for his last offense.
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27 DWI offender speaks from jail
Article By: Renee Jones Schneider , Publish / Update January 24, 2010 8:15 AMDanny Lee Bettcher speaks about his 27 DWI's from jail moments after being sentenced to 48 months in prison for the last offense.
Jason Sandstrom went through one of the programs.
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In fight against DWIs, 2 counties focus on cause
Article By: DAVID CHANEN and PAT PHEIFER , Star Tribune staff writers Publish March 13, 2010 2:00 AM / Update March 15, 2010 1:47 PMAlcohol-related crashes are down in Anoka and Ramsey counties, where repeat offenders spend less time in jail if they quit drinking.
Kirsten Driscoll
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Driver's apology not enough for family
Article By: ROCHELLE OLSON and CURT BROWN , Star Tribune staff writers Publish January 27, 2010 2:00 AM / Update January 27, 2010 9:21 AMKirsten Driscoll, a Minneapolis mother of three, will serve eight months in jail for killing Christopher Iverson as she drove home while drunk. "Something is wrong with the system," the victim's sister said.
Richard Papenfuss spoke about his 20 DWIs at the sober house he lives at in Fergus Falls.
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20 DWI's; Multiple offender speaks
Article By: Renee Jones Schneider , Publish / Update January 24, 2010 8:14 AMRichard Papenfuss talks about how he got 20 DWI's in the last 30 years.
Attorney Don Nichols
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Minnesota's 'DWI guy' grew weary of the grind
Article By: CURT BROWN , Star Tribune Publish February 3, 2010 2:00 AM / Update February 3, 2010 10:45 AMDon Nichols. Minnesota's top DWI defense lawyer, walked away when the "hopelessness" got to him.
Connie Ann Stroud
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Tearful drunk driver apologizes
Article By: ROCHELLE OLSON , Star Tribune Publish July 16, 2010 2:00 AM / Update July 16, 2010 1:56 PMConnie Ann Stroud didn't wait for sentencing to apologize to the couple whose fetus died in a wrong-way crash.
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Reporter's Notebook: DWI series
Article By: Matt Gillmer , Publish / Update March 22, 2011 3:50 PMAimee Blanchette and Richard Meryhew talk about how Minnesota compares to other states in DWI penalties.
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