I'm so angry and upset, I've been in tears. Last night in Burlington, a woman was killed by a drunk driver with FIVE PRIOR drunk driving convictions and a VALID driver's license. She died instantly.

Five prior convictions? When is a repeat drunk driver going to be treated as the menace to society that he/she is, and taken off the streets? I don't mean take a way the license...that's a joke when it comes to "hard core" drunks. I mean jail. For a long time.

I realize that a first-time drunk driver can just as easily kill someone. But repeat offending says something about that person: he or she either can't or won't stop, and WE have to stop that person from driving ever again.

When I used to drive with my first husband I would simply be in prayer the whole time. Prayer to arrive home alive. Prayer that a cop would be waiting. Prayer that he wouldnt kill us or someone else on the way home. I would beg to drive and it would reach the level of violence before he would demand that I get in the dang car.

If their license is taken away, they drive anyway. If they are fined, they refuse to pay, and somehow they never chase them for contempt of court. They play pity stories upon the court about needing to support their families, and permission to drive to and from work.

Remember the woman on the highway a couple of years back that slammed into wrong way traffic and killed all but one child in her own car? Her family claims they had no idea she had been drinking at that picnic. BS!

When I worked in prison and as a medic I would ask why we were not taking this drunk to jail, instead of the hospital and would be told all about how Alcoholics are sick, and need hospital and medical care, not punishment. That used to anger me to my core!

Drive drunk once and you lose your license, do it twice and lose your freedom. Kill or injure someone while out there, and not only do you lose your freedom, but your family should be hauled into court to explain why they didnt report you. Its so important for loved ones to stand up and say NO! I wont get in the car with you, and NO! I wont stand here in silence. If you leave this spot, I am calling the cops with your license plate number and direction. My ex never had a single accident while blasted, but it was not for his skill, it was blind luck.

I hate alcohol. I just don't see the purpose of it. Nothing good comes of it. People who drink and then get behind the wheel of a car are lower than low in my opinion. The laws are not near strict enough. IMHO.....too many lawyers and not enough laws. Punishment should be swift and severe.

Oh no, that's just awful. They won't let us with MS drive because of the POSSIBLE problem, but the give the drunk carte blanche..

I think it's because lawyers and judges are all closet drunks, themselves, so they let them down easy.

Saying a prayer for poor dear woman!!

I have a special hatred for drunk drivers.

My mother was nearly killed when she was 17 by a drunk driver. She lived, otherwise I wouldnt be here, but she didnt come out of it without some damage.

She was unconscious for five weeks. This was back in 1957 when they really couldnt do much for people in a comatose state. One day she just woke up. Took her a couple of years to recover. She had to wear special prisms in her glasses because she had some strange diplopia, and because of that head injury she's always had a bit of a temper...as she's gotten older, it's gotten more difficult for her to keep control of her temper, and she's also had problems with her memory at times. The memory problems werent too bad, but they've gotten worse as she's gotten older. People in her family typically havent had alzheimerish problems...so it's weird for people on her side of the family to deal with her. They dont have the experience for it.

My mom also has some problems with her back and legs and knees from the accident. She didnt have any broken bones (surprising) but she's had a lot of problems with back pain that they said could be traced back to that accident.

Guy that hit her was in an old pickup...my mom was in a car that was on the side of the road. It was a friend of her's car, they were having some car problems and my mom stayed in the car while her friend went to talk to some other friends that had stopped to help them with the car. Drunk came over the hill, (think) he crossed the center line and slammed into the car my mom was in on the side of the road. She got thrown out of the car and across the road. Had a contra-coup concussion. (basically means that her brain got hit twice...or more)

I really hate drunk drivers.

My hometown (Omaha, NE) has been having a big problem with drunk drivers killing people lately. Recently a guy from Omaha got drunk and was driving on the interstate in Iowa and hit FOUR motorcyclists (two from Omaha) and killed all four of them.

Another drunk putz hit a car this summer being driven by a local doctor (co-worker of my dad) and killed him and injured his two sons that were in the car with him. That accident happened at EIGHT AM! The doctor that died, was driving one of his kids to school for his first day of school. The drunk guy said he'd had a "couple of drinks" the night before, but that he wasnt drunk when the accident happened. (his blood alcohol was off the charts)

That drunk was in the hospital for awhile and I know some of the people who work at that hospital in the kitchen. They told me that when they'd deliver his food, he was constantly ordering pie and acting as if his stay in the hospital was a vacation. Said he was mad that they wouldnt let him go home, and he has no money, so the state was paying for his medical care because he was arrested and under guard...so he was going to take advantage of the government paying for his medical care. Ordered pie like it was going out of style. He gained a ton of weight while he was in the hospital. I hope that jerk dies of a heart attack or that he develops diabetes and loses a kidney or two.

People like that, with no apparent remorse for what they've done. Makes you wish the drunk died in the accident and that the people he/she/they killed had lived.

There have been so many drunk driver accidents in Omaha lately, most of them resulting in the death of some innocent victim. I'm half afraid to go out on the road anymore.

I think drunks should go directly to jail if they cause an injury or death. Life imprisonment especially if they caused a death...with hard labor.

As a Police Officer arresting as many DWI's as possible, I had a certain knack for it or maybe I just attracted them, not sure. When going to court their attorney would always come up and want to plea bargain down to improper driving of something even more stupid.

My stance was very solid, presented with a very cold stare and the sincerity of certain death. I would simply say, "In my opinion there is no negotiation for what I believe should be a first offense "FELONY!" The attorney would then excuse himself and ironically, when the case was called, there was no attorney representing the defendant. Geee! I wonder why?

Let's not discount the fact that someone "enabled" this person to get to this state unless they were drinking in a locked closet.

I'm sure you wish you could go back in time and try to do that with your ex husband... It's the right thing to do, but you know from experience it's difficult. Often times we're part of the whole system of alcoholism: codependents, enablers, etc...

I was in a an alcohol related accident when I was younger, as the passenger in a car. I completely empathize with how difficult it is to know what's right, and then also act on it, especially when you're close to the alcoholic.

Alcoholics are masters of manipulating their loved ones to somehow be complicit in their actions of addiction.

In my case - the situation was similar. I was lucky enough to get out of it with 5 knocked out teeth and 63 stitches in my chin....

Again, being previous law enforcement, I realize the elements of alcoholic syndrome. BUT, to me it does NOT alleviate personal responsibility. This "victim" mentality is all part of the manipulation and projecting blame on others or circumstances.
This is a primary key and speaks more of our society and the contradictions in dealing with this problem regardless of the social dynamics and resulting deaths.

Technology is finally catching up with the installation of auto shut down breathalyzers in cars. This should be standard equipment. Police can only act primarily AFTER the fact to prevent a tragedy, if lucky.

There really is not "simple" answer as this is a multifront war which must be addressed at many levels. This is all complicated with many people predisposed genetically to the lack of alcohol tolerance. In this situation, future DNA manipulation may be a solution, but will that prevent them from drinking of or from just becoming an alcoholic.

I was stupid enough to be married at 16. I was young, dumb, scared, and confused. This man was quite aggressive and while I did speak up, most of the time it got me a slap in the mouth. I used to think "the cops KNOW this is the exact route all those drunks take on their way home from the bar at THIS hour. Why are they not sitting out here waiting?!" At that point I wanted someone to save me. I didnt know I could save myself.

We implant spinal stimulators or insulin pumps into folks. Why cant we implant those pumps into drunks to force them to submit to that med that makes alcohol turn sour and make them very sick? I think the court systems are VERY easy on drunks unless you get a judge with a drunken daddy or has seen what the drug can do. We allow folks to drink till they fall down, but we cant have MJ for sick folks? I dont get it.

Unfortunately, it's a "good old boys" system here......or so it seems. If you're lucky enough to get a lawyer who knows a Judge or knows somebody within the "system" a drunk driver can sometimes get by with minimum impact on their life.

It's very frustrating to those in law enforcement who put their life on the line to get these drunks off the road only to have them walk back out the revolving door of the courthouse.