Category: Driving News

33-year-old woman, Sandra Ortiz, has been charged with felony charges such as DUI and vehicular manslaughter. Sandra Oritz, 33, of Vista, pulled her vehicle over onto the right shoulder of the road for unknown reasons near Mar Vista Drive. Her two children, a 10-year-old boy, and a 16-year-old girl, got out of the vehicle and stepped into the path of an oncoming white Nissan Sentra. Investigators believe that the kids were told by their mom to secure luggage that had come loose from the vehicle’s roof. Ortiz’s four other kids were in the back of the car uninjured from the incident. The driver of the Nissan Sentra was left with minor injuries but is severely traumatized by this incident.

We hope the four children and the other driver in the crash are doing well. This is such an awful experience for anyone to go through, hopefully, this never happens to you or your family. Sandra Ortiz should have never made her kids do something this dangerous, getting out of the car, especially on the freeway. If for any reason you have a DUI, A-1 Driving Schools has you covered.

Imagine you take your driving test, and your instructor fails you because they did not put their seatbelt on. A man on Reddit shared the story of his terrible experience with his driving instructor when he was 16 years old. During his driving test, the instructor purposefully did not buckle in causing him to fail. Previously the student told the instructor to buckle in and he proceeded to stay unbuckled. The instructor then waited till the end of the test to mention that he should have made sure everyone in the car was buckled in, causing him to fail. Thankfully the student passed weeks later.

Situations like this can take a toll on people. The man shared this story after 20 years. No one should have to go through this, and you should be able to trust your driving instructor and anyone that helped you throughout the process of learning how to drive. At A-1 Driving Schools, we are a trustworthy family-owned business that will help you learn how to drive, and get you to the next step, the driving test. We hope that no one has to deal with instructors like the one this man experienced.

Casandra Smith is accused of killing Deputy Christopher Taylor. On April 10, Deputy Taylor’s family filed a wrongful death suit against Smith, claiming that he died “as a direct and proximate result” of Smith’s actions. Two months later, on June 14, Smith responded to that suit, claiming her actions did not cause Taylor’s death. Smith argued that he was killed by third-party acts that she couldn’t control. Smith has a previous record of DUI arrests and was competent to stand trial. She then went through a competency evaluation which Taylor’s family felt was a tactic to not be charged.

Losing a loved one is always hard, especially if it’s a DUI. We hope justice comes to whoever committed this act, and A-1 Driving Schools hope Taylor’s family feels contempt for the trial’s result. If you or your family member gets a DUI A-1 Driving Schools is always here to help.

A 40-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of her driving under the influence after she crashed her SUV with her 2-year-old in the back. She crashed her car into a light pole. The police later arrived at the one-car collision. The driver, a 40-year-old woman from Sebastopol, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and causing injury to another. According to witnesses, police said a white Audi SUV was traveling eastbound on Highway 12 at a high rate of speed when it collided with a light pole on the southwest corner of South Wright Road. They found the woman and her 2-year-old both injured. They were taken to the hospital and were both expected to survive. During the crash, she was under the influence of prescription medication.

Prescription medication is a drug. Certain prescription medications aren’t safe to drive while on, while others are fine. Look at the side effects of the medications you are taking before driving, especially with people. If you are driving, with a baby, you should always take extra precautions. Thankfully the woman and the baby are ok. If you did not prescription medication shouldn’t be driven with you should take our informative Driver’s Education Class.

18-year-old Dominic Rampi is being charged with vehicular manslaughter. Due to the toxicology test results, he is now facing DUI manslaughter. The toxicology tests show that when he hit the woman’s car, he was impaired. At the time of, the crash, he was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana. According to deputies, Rampi was driving a 2011 BMW 335I south on Belcher Road at a high rate of speed when he ran a red light at the intersection with Curlew Road. When he ran the red light he T-boned a Dodge charger at a high speed. Marion was taken to a local hospital, where she was announced dead.

No driver should ever be under the influence while driving. Driving under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, or any other drug can injure you and others around you. If you are ever under the influence of drugs or alcohol, call a friend to pick you up, or get a taxi or an Uber. If at the moment you weren’t able to do one of those options and happen to get a DUI, A-1 Driving School has great and informative DUI classes you can take.

Over the weekend, there was an incident involving a driver that was caught speeding on Ga. 400. The driver was operating a Ferrari and was reportedly traveling at a speed of 178 miles per hour. This was a significant violation of the speed limit, as the car exceeded the speed limit by more than 100 miles per hour. The incident was reported by deputies who were patrolling the area and were quick to respond to the situation.

178MPH is a speed you should never try to achieve. It’s important to remember that driving at excessive speeds can be dangerous and potentially life-threatening, not just to the driver but also to others on the road. We encourage everyone to drive responsibly and abide by the set speed limits for the safety of others. If you ever need help understanding the speed limit or anything else A-1 Driving Schools is here to help with Driver’s Education classes.

A driving instructor has been put into custody After asking a student inappropriate questions during a lesson, a driving instructor was arrested. The student claims that while she was driving, the driving instructor asked her where she lived and began searching for her location on Google Maps. According to the warrant, the instructor allegedly inquired about the girl’s need for drugs and offered to “hook her up with his plug in Willimantic if she ever needed anything.” The girl says the man asked her if she was a virgin. Her instructor made her feel extremely uncomfortable. The girl stated in the warrant that the instructor twice asked her if he could hug her after she appeared visibly distraught. According to the warrant, he also offered to drive her home and asked for her phone number. The instructor was released on a $5,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on June 21.

This is not acceptable behavior from any teacher, driving school, or school. Actions like this driving instructor’s should never be tolerated, and if you are experiencing this from any teacher, tell someone. If this were to happen to you just know A-1 Driving Schools is here to help. We hope that this never happens to anyone again, either teen or adult.

Michael O’Farrell, 33, was found guilty of DUI, which caused harm to a motorcyclist. Officers from Sparks Police arrived on the scene and discovered the victim, a 28-year-old man, lying on the road with serious wounds. He had multiple fractures in his left leg and pelvis, a brain bleed, brain swelling, and abrasions. O’Farrell fled the scene before the police arrived. The police were able to identify his truck from a description provided by witnesses. He was later taken into custody. Charges of hit-and-run and reckless driving were brought against O’Farrell. Deputy District Attorney Brett Dieffenbach argued for the counts to be run consecutively and for a sentence of 40 years with parole eligibility after 16 years. O’Farrell driving at two-and-one-half times the legal limit, showing a complete disregard for the victim’s welfare and the lifelong physical and cognitive issues the victim continues to suffer.

The police haven’t stated anything about the cyclist and we wish that he is ok. O’Farrell was driving with a high level of alcohol in his blood. It is said that he was driving at one and a half or two times the legal limit. Driving when being far over the legal limit of alcohol should not happen. It can end in serious consequences as we see with what happened to O’Farrell and the motorcyclist. A-1 Driving Schools has a Driver’s Education course to show the rules of the road and how to avoid this situation to your best.

A 42-year-old Carlsbad woman was arrested and charged with vehicular manslaughter in a crash last August involving a Toyota 4- Runner and an electric bicycle, police said Wednesday. The woman on the bike was 35 years old with her 16-month-old child. Thankfully the baby was found to be uninjured. 42-year-old Lindsay Turmelle, with suspicion of vehicular manslaughter after an investigation by the CPD Traffic Division and the California Highway Patrol’s Multi-Disciplinary Accident Investigation Team, Turmelle was officially charged. The driver pleaded not guilty. Now the police are speaking to the witnesses.

This is an awful situation that left a baby without a mom. We hope the baby finds its home and the family recovers from this awful experience. You can help with getting rid of situations like this by learning the rules of the road and attending driver’s education. If you need somewhere to take a driver’s education course, A-1 Driving Schools offers in-person and online classes so you can take classes however you want.

Jesse Purser, a 13-year-old girl, was killed in a DUI in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Lewisville Middle School, the school she attended, will have a balloon vigil for her as she was well-loved around the school. Jesse was riding in a truck when the driver lost control and crashed into a lawnmower. Jessie was thrown from the truck and died. Troopers say 19-year-old Christopher Mullis was driving on Homestead Road near Rock Hill around 8:30 p.m. Saturday. They say Mullis ran off the road, and his truck hit Christopher Kernaghan, killing him. Kernaghan’s wife says her son, who was also on the lawnmower, is in the intensive care unit with serious injuries. She says her husband was the only one who worked in their home, and they need help caring for their four children. Mullis is currently in jail facing felony DUI charges.

No one should ever go through the pain of losing someone because of a DUI. Along with Jesse’s school, we are wishing well for her family as they go through this time of grief. We hope this never happens to you, but if it were to happen  A-1 Driving Schools has a great DUI school to help you through this tough time.