Getting Serious Drunk Driving Offenders Off Ohio Roads

'Tis the Season, but you might want to think twice about driving drunk if you are in the Akron, Ohio area. You wouldn't want your name to wind up on THIS "Top 10 List". Summit County recently received a $25,000 state grant that is intended to pay for special details who will arrest suspected and convicted drunken drivers who have either been "no shows" at their court appearances or have ceased their probation visits and have disappeared.

In order to facilitate the capture of the worst of these drunk driving offenders, the sheriff's office created a "Top 10 DUI Warrant List" that includes names, photos and last known addresses for the wanted individuals. The first list was released on Friday, December 1^st and published in the Akron Beacon Journal on Saturday, December 2^nd. How appropriate that it should be released during National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month or (3D month) as December is the worst time of the year for drunk driving related traffic accidents. The announcement has already led to the arrest of the most serious offender, 36-year-old Mildred Van Meter of Columbus, Ohio. After a night of partying in Barberton on New Year's Eve four years ago, Ms. Van Meter ran over and killed her father, while driving drunk. The legal blood-alcohol content level for Ohio is 0.08 percent and Ms. Van Meter had a BAC of 0.215 percent. She received a two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, hit-skip, drunken driving and driving with a suspended license; however, she failed to complete her probation and disappeared.