Month: November 2019

The driver of the school bus that crashed near Chattanooga has been arrested and charged with five counts of vehicular manslaughter.

Johnthony Walker, 24, is in custody.

The district’s attorney’s office has confirmed six elementary students in Chattanooga have died and many more are hurt after the school bus they were on crashed and wrapped around a tree.

The severity of the others’ injuries has not yet been reported.

Thirty-five students were on the bus at the time of the crash, WDEF reported.

Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher had said 23 of them have been taken to the hospital, but there may be more kids hurt, as crews were still working on rescuing people who were trapped.

Everyone has since been freed from the bus, according to the Chattanooga Fire Department.

It is unclear at this time what led to the crash, but police said the bus driver is cooperating with them.

The school district said it is bringing in extra counselors to offer support.

Here are some common rule of always stopping for a stopped school bus is not always correct:

Always Stop for a School Bus, when…

1. Approaching behind a school bus when its’ lights flash yellow and red.
2. Driving on either side of a 2-lane highway, both sides of traffic must always stop! for a stopped school bus.

Never Stop for a School Bus, when…

1. Driving on the opposite side of traffic, on a 4-lane highway.

This is the common mistake most motorists make when approaching a stopped school bus.

If you are driving on the opposite side of the traffic of a school bus, on a 4-lane highway, always proceed with caution, but always keep moving! Stopping will impede traffic and may cause accidents.

For more safe driving information or safe driving practices, A-1 Driving Schools has 19 convenient locations around metro Atlanta that all offer defensive driving courses! For more information please call (770)962-9555 or visit us at www.a1drivingschools.com.

Our condolences go to the family and friends of those involved in this tragic accident. 

All persons involved in the accident were transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center,” the sheriff stated. “Sadly, one student succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased at the hospital.”

The Georgia State Patrol has since identified the deceased driver as 17-year-old Carlos Christo Morales of Baldwin. The GSP reports that Morales was riding with his brother and cousin in a Ford F-150 pickup truck when a Jeep Cherokee crossed the center line and ran into them head-on.

The other driver, Cherrie Pulido of Mt. Airy, now faces charges of driving under the influence, failure to maintain lane, failure to exercise due care, tire requirements and homicide by vehicle in the first degree.

She will be booked into the jail when released from the hospital, however, a spokesperson for the GSP said that she is being treated for serious injuries.

The other two teens who were riding with Morales, both 15 years old, didn’t have any serious or life-threatening injuries according to the trooper who filed the report.

The sheriff added that his office and the school system have put into place a support system for students, faculty, and staff following the tragic news.

Habersham Central High School counselors will be visiting classes of the three students who died to inform them of the tragedy and offer “support passes” to allow them to leave class or be excused to meet with counselors. Counselors will also be stationed in the staff development room at the high school to provide services to any students, faculty or staff.

Georgia State law also requires a clinical evaluation and the attendance of a DUI / Risk Reduction Program that’s certified/licensed by the Georgia Department of Driver’s Services before your driver’s license can be reinstated if you have been charged with any of the following:

1. DUI
2. Drug Possession
3. Other drug offenses
4. Under-age possession of drugs or alcohol

Before getting behind the wheel after having a few, consider the many reasons why you should not.

For more information about DUI School visit www.a1drivingschools.com or call (770) 962-9555!

Our condolences go to the family and friends of Carlos Morales, along with those impacted by this tragic accident. 

Our condolences go out to the family and friends of Sapphire Thomas.

Speeding is more than just breaking the law. The consequences are far-ranging:

• Greater potential for loss of vehicle control;
• Reduced effectiveness of occupant protection equipment;
• Increased stopping distance after the driver perceives a danger;
• Increased degree of crash severity leading to more severe injuries;
• Economic implications of a speed-related crash; and
• Increased fuel consumption/cost.

Speeding behavior and aggressive drivers may not only affect the speeder—it can also affect other drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Here are some tips for encountering speeders on the road: 

• Give speeding drivers plenty of space. Speeding drivers may lose control of their vehicles more easily.
• Adjust your driving accordingly. Speeding is tied to aggressive driving. If a speeding driver is tailgating you or trying to engage you in risky driving, use judgment to safely steer your vehicle out of the way.
• Call the police if you believe a driver is following you or harassing you.

To stay safe on the road consider taking a defensive driving class. A-1 offers classes at 19 locations where you can learn more tricks and tips such as these!

When New Jersey lawmakers debated earlier this year whether to legalize recreational use of marijuana, the Garden State’s police organizations were adamantly against it.

The cops said that legal weed might lead to an explosion in the numbers of impaired drivers operating under the influence. And the police would be caught flatfooted trying to tell whether drivers they pulled over were high or not.

“With alcohol, if you have over 0.08% in your blood, there’s the presumption that you’re intoxicated,” said Christopher Leusner, head of the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police.

“There hasn’t been a blood test or a breath test that can determine if you’re impaired by marijuana.”

Now there is.

It’s a breathalyzer device developed by Hound Labs in Northern California. It’s portable and can run tests for both alcohol and marijuana. It just may change the minds of many of those reluctant police officers, including in Pennsylvania as lawmakers consider several proposals to legalize recreational marijuana use.

Intrinsic Capital Partners, a Philadelphia growth equity fund, is so convinced of a “potential massive market” for the device that it led a $30 million Series D financing round to bring it to market in 2020.

Mike Lynn, a veteran emergency department physician from Oakland, Calif., developed the Hound in collaboration with researchers from the University of California at Berkeley and San Francisco.

Lynn also happens to be a reserve deputy sheriff.

“It’s about creating a balance of public safety and fairness,” Lynn said. “I’ve seen the tragedies resulting from impaired driving up close. And I have a good idea how challenging it is at the roadside to know whether someone smoked pot recently. But I believe if someone is not stoned, they shouldn’t be arrested.”

Blood tests for marijuana can return a positive result even if someone has used cannabis within the last three weeks.

Lynn claims that his device can detect whether someone has smoked or ingested a marijuana edible within the last three hours.

Police have depended on the skunky stench of burnt marijuana to provide probable cause to search a car or conduct a field sobriety test on a driver. But a recent court ruling in Pennsylvania maintained that the smell alone isn’t sufficient reason to initiate an arrest.

In addition, cannabis consumers in many states are slowly trending toward edibles — from pot brownies to infused beverages and lozenges — and, until the recent scare, vaping.

So the breath analyzers appear to be arriving at the perfect moment.

In about eight months, Lynn’s team was able to detect THC in the breath of smokers. It took five more years to consistently and accurately measure levels with a machine with a cost in reach of most police departments and employers.

DUI Laws | What You Need to Know

The laws make it illegal for drivers of all ages to operate motor vehicles if they have BAC percentages of:

• 0.08% or higher, if they’re 21 years old or older operating regular passenger vehicles.
• 0.04% or higher, if they’re operating commercial vehicles.
• 0.02% or higher, if they’re younger than 21 years old.

Georgia State law also requires a clinical evaluation and the attendance of a DUI / Risk Reduction Program that’s certified/licensed by the Georgia Department of Driver’s Services before your driver’s license can be reinstated if you have been charged with any of the following:

1. DUI
2. Drug Possession
3. Other drug offenses
4. Under-age possession of drugs or alcohol

Before getting behind the wheel after having a few, consider the many reasons why you should not.

For more information about DUI School visit www.a1drivingschools.com or call (770) 962-9555!