Poorly Worded Headline of the Day: “Law enforcement driving crackdown brings 40 tickets”
Of course our winner is E. Richard Walton writing for The Greenville News. Is law enforcement driving a crackdown? Or are they cracking down on driving? It can’t be the latter since driving isn’t illegal. Hmmm. Let’s see if Mr. Walton can clarify this for us in the body of his piece:
A police traffic safety task force focusing on DUI and speeding wrote about 40 traffic tickets in Greenville County late into Friday night, bringing the total for the month to about 140 citations, a commander said.
The task force was comprised of about a dozen officers from Fountain Inn, the Greenville Police Department, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, the Highway Patrol and Maudlin police, according to Sgt. Robbie Robertson, a spokesman for the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office.
The officers set up two stationary checkpoints, one on Taylors Road, and one on Chick Springs Road; the hours ran from about 8:45 p.m. to 11 p.m., he said. Then the officers spent another hour patrolling various parts of Greenville County.
While there were just five speeding tickets, the other citations included seven tickets for driving without a valid license and six for tag-related violations, Robertson said.
Two people were issued summons for having marijuana in their vehicles after officers smelled it coming from the cars, and another pair were ticketed because they were watching TV when they encountered the task force, he said
Oh. I see. In other words, there was a road safety task force setting up police checkpoints to screen for DUIs and other violations. I guess a headline like “Task Force Issues 40 tickets in DUI sweep!” was too pedestrian for The Greenville News. Or how about punching things up with “Drug Bust at DUI Checkpoint!” if you were going for something more like newspaper reporting and less like a reach around to the bureaucrat whose job it is to justify these sweeps to budget conscious city and county officials.
You see, Mr. Walton, the number of tickets during your so-called “law enforcement driving crackdown” is only interesting to the people doing the accounting for the cities involved. The stoners endangering our lives by driving around high or the “unlicensed drivers,” some of whom may be illegal aliens or better yet (in terms of interest), people who have already had their licenses yanked for DUI is what people read the news for. This is what will have an effect on their lives, what they need to read about. Unless the number of tickets is unusually low (meaning the program made the roads safer), the number of tickets handed out is not the lead.
But hey, E. Richard Walton is the “real journalist” here so maybe I’m wrong.
James Duck Charged with DUI in Fatal Wreck
The driver who fled the scene of a fatal car wreck near the intersection of Tugaloo Road and Highway 11 Monday night has been charged with felony DUI. James Michael Duck, 25, of Lyman turned up at Greenville Memorial Hospital where his mother had taken him for medical attention early Tuesday. He was arrested upon release by Greenville County deputies.
The victim of the wreck has been identified as Kandys Darlene Batson, 25, of Lyman.
Troopers said she was not wearing a seat belt. Batson was partially ejected and the Honda came to rest on her upper body, the coroner said. The medical examiner said she died from blunt force trauma to the chest.
James Duck was also not wearing a seat belt. He is being held at the Greenville County Detention Center, and has been charged with driving under the influence resulting in death and leaving the scene of an accident involving a death.
WYFF4 notes that records indicate Duck and Batson shared the same address. It is unclear if they were married, although sources confirmed Batson was married.
Update, Dec. 9, 2009: [Reader Holli confirms what one of our sources says: Duck and Batson were cousins. Sometimes alcohol runs thicker than blood.]
DUI Charge in Greenville for Hartwell Mayor-Elect Jennifer Sudderth
The 35-year-old mayor-elect of Hartwell, GA was charged with driving under the influence in Greenville on Saturday night. But she swears police have it all wrong.
Jennifer Scott Sudderth told the Greenville News, “I am innocent of these charges against me which will be proven in a court of law.”
Sudderth is expected in municipal court on Thursday, where she will likely repeat the excuses she used Saturday night when cops nabbed her swerving her car from lane to lane on Mauldin Road: texting while driving and sleepiness.
Apparently texting while tired will cause you to fail a field sobriety test like Sudderth reportedly did. I wonder if Sudderth will contend that it also causes the slurred speech, heavy eyelids, and glassy eyes observed by the arresting officer. Sudderth was also allegedly unsteady on her feet and had difficulty locating her driver’s license.
Texting while tired may also cause one to lie to authorities. Sudderth initally denied visiting any bars Saturday night even though she wore a “Crocs Food & Spirits” wristband. Perhaps she was going to pass it off as a fashion statement?
Sudderth later admitted to visiting the establishment after drinking two glasses of wine at a friend’s house. Officers were unable to obtain an adequate Breathalyzer test sample after three tries. I’m pretty sure that means she was holding her breath (or at least not trying too hard.)
When the officer asked Sudderth if she’d had any liquor she replied, “Liquor? I don’t even know her.” Okay, maybe that part didn’t happen, but how far outside the realm of possibility did it really sound?
Update, 11/19/09, 4:30 p.m. – Greenville court records show a request for a jury trial was filed on behalf of Jennifer Sudderth this afternoon.
Visit The Hartwell Sun Online for a letter from Mayor-Elect Sudderth in which she pleads for forgiveness. Not that she did anything wrong. Well, okay then.