New Waverly High School students got a hands-on lesson in the realities of drinking and driving Thursday, participating in a drunk driving simulation program called PEERS AWARE III.

The program, sponsored by Professionals Encouraging Educational Support Statewide (PEERS) Awareness, is funded by a grant awarded to NWHS. It is designed to realistically show students the dangers of drinking and driving.

“When students first come in, we show them a video of emergency room footage about those involved in alcohol-related crashes,” PEERS Awareness team leader Robert Tower said. “It is somewhat graphic, showing the before and after effects of being in an alcohol-related crash.”

A New Hampshire man has been sentenced to 2 to 5 years in prison for his 10th drunken driving charge and several related charges.

According to published reports, Kerry Persons, 58, of Manchester, apologized during a plea hearing in Rockingham County.

He was arrested Sept. 8 after he allegedly stole a vehicle in Manchester, drove to Newmarket and drove across several lawns before hitting a tree. He was also accused of spitting on an officer.

A Petaluma woman was arrested for what would be her third alcohol-related offense after a high-speed pursuit on Highway 101 that had her passing other motorists on the shoulder in afternoon traffic Wednesday, the CHP said.

Teresa Saldana, 40, was on probation for her second drunken driving conviction when an officer allegedly witnessed her in violation of carpool lane laws on Highway 101 in south Santa Rosa.

When the officer tried to stop her, she pulled over at first, but then raced off as he approached on foot, authorities said.

A 38-year-old Sheboygan man convicted of his 10th drunken driving offense was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison.



"I'm looking at discouraging others from committing these types of acts," Brown County Circuit Court Judge Mark Warpinski said at the hearing.



Ronald Dunaj was stopped for reckless driving on Interstate 43 on June 17, 2008. When a deputy approached his Ford Focus, Dunaj sped off and led deputies on a chase across Green Bay's east side and several suburbs before deputies rammed his car to end the pursuit. His blood alcohol content was 0.222 percent. The legal limit is 0.08 percent.

A man whose first driving under the influence-related offense involved the death of a Sacramento motorcyclist in 1988 has been sentenced to six years in state prison for a sixth DUI conviction, says the Placer County District Attorney's Office.

In sentencing Peter Joseph Farrell, 43, of Oregon, Placer County Superior Court Judge Mark S. Curry said it appeared "he has not learned his lesson, adding, "he continues to commit crimes that jeopardize the public's safety."

Carthage police unveiled a new weapon to fight drunken driving Thursday at city hall.

“It really gets a lot of attention,” said Carthage police Chief Greg Dagnan. “People see it every night out on the street and know that we’re serious about DWI enforcement.”

When Donna Sheedy pleaded guilty Thursday to DUI in the death of motorcyclist Kenneth Temple, she told his family she knows the pain she caused because a drunken driver killed her brother while he was riding a motorcycle.

"I have some understanding of how the family feels. I feel so sorry that it happened," the 61-year-old Myrtle Beach woman said during the hearing on the charge of felony driving under the influence. "It's terrible. I made a very bad decision. I can't bring him back, and I have to live with that."

Temple, 47, from Centereach, New York, was killed May 15 while riding with family and friends on S.C. 544 near the Boardwalk shopping complex during the Harley-Davidson Cruisin' the Coast spring rally.

43-year-old Chad Kumaus was arrested in Chesterfield Township after an ex-girlfriend said he wouldn't leave her home. Kumaus had been arrested nine times before across Macomb County and Lansing, with charges dating back to 1986.

Fraser Police Lt. Dan Kulke tells Fox 2 that he remembers arresting Kumaus 19 years ago. "This person's very dangerous. He's been charged with felonies numerous times for the multiple drunk drivings and he hasn't learned from it. It's not enough punishment for him," he said.

Although Kumaus -- who also has a suspended license -- must wear an electronic tether that monitors his alcohol use, there's no stopping him from driving.

Thirty Chartiers Valley students -- most of them from the high school -- face underage drinking, disorderly conduct and drug charges following two Jan. 22 "senior skip day" parties in Collier.

The teens will face preliminary hearings March 3 before South Fayette District Judge Maureen Desmet.

One party took place shortly before noon on Fifth Street in the Fort Pitt neighborhood. The other took place that night on Noblestown Road in the Walkers Mill section of town.

Professing remorse, Juan Prieto Gonzalez offered various explanations for the April 2009 crash that killed his 8-year-old son and severely injured two young children and their father.

He said that his brakes failed, and that, maybe, the blood-alcohol concentration tests showing he was at three times the legal limit were wrong.