LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- It's an issue that affects hundreds of Arkansans, many times ending in danger and heartache: drunk driving.
Critics say drivers convicted of driving while intoxicated are many times not punished in a timely manner-- if they're punished at all.
Karissa Jackson remembers clearly, the car crash on that cold November night last year. She says, "He hit the driver's side of the car. Christian was sitting behind me and he hit the driver's side of the car. And his truck went all the way down the side of our car."
Karissa Jackson remembers, Tracy Norman was driving drunk when he crossed the center line into her lane.
Karissa says her son Christian was the only one hurt. "He had an open-skull fracture. I mean there was just blood everywhere. I didn't know at the time that it was open but...when I seen him I honestly thought he was dead."
It was a violent accident 10-year-old son Christian will never forget. Norman, was not hurt - and would face yet another day in court. He had already been convicted 8 times on felony charges of drunk driving.
Karissa says, "I could hear him at the accident trying to drive away. I mean, he ran off into a steep ditch and he couldn't go anywhere. But I could just hear him while I was sitting in the back seat with Christian just revving his engine!"
How was he free to be on the highway that night?
After serving time on and off for DWI offenses dating back to 1995, he had been cleared from the prison just 19 days prior.
Teresa Belew with Mothers Against Drunk Driving says offenders squeeze through the loopholes in the system more often than you may think. She points to the lack of an accurately unified computer system.
"It's highly possible that somebody could have a charge pending in Little Rock district court, a charge pending in Sherwood district court, a charge pending in Maumelle district court, a charge pending in Pulaski County district court and those courts would have no idea of what's going on in those other courts!"
Christian goes to therapy three times a week and is still awaiting reconstructive surgery on his cranium. His scars: a constant reminder. His daily routine: a frustration.
Karissa finds strength in her family and friends but remains amazed by the situation. "It's just phenomenal to me. I don't think he even knew that he even hit us at all." says Karissa.
Christian can read and still loves to play his video games.
As for Norman? He is currently serving a 6-year sentence for the accident involving Christian. Belew says many DWI repeat offenders know how to work the legal system to their advantage.
"They might plead guilty to a DWI one in one court and then immediately file an appeal to circuit court. So that it doesn't show up on their criminal record. So they leapfrog, hop, skip and jump around with these charges until they really really mount up until that final day of accounting occurs!" says Belew.
Jackson doesn't hate the man who hit her car but is angry. "It's just frustrating I guess. I don't understand it. How you can take the chance in hurting someone else."
A question which remains a mystery. But until the leaks are sealed, the fights for safety on the roads and justice in the courtrooms continue.
Belew says, "In spite of all our best efforts, in spite of everything we can do, it's dangerous to be out on the roads. But when you put someone behind the wheel who is fully loaded with alcohol, it's a menace to all of us."
According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, on average, five people die every week in Arkansas because of a drunk driver. MADD ranks Arkansas number 14 in the United States for drunk driving.
According to Arkansas law, "'influence' means being controlled or affected by the ingestion of an alcoholic beverage or similar intoxicant, or any combination of an alcoholic beverage or similar intoxicant, to such a degree that the driver's reactions, motor skills, and judgment are altered or diminished, even to the slightest scale, and the underage driver, therefore, due to inexperience and lack of skill, constitutes a danger of physical injury or death to himself or herself and other motorists or pedestrians."
In the state of Arkansas, according to state code 5-65-104, if you get arrested for DWI, you must immediately surrender your driver's license and your license is suspended for a certain amount of time.
License suspensions go as follows:
- Six months for first offense.
- 24 months for second offense if it is within 5 years of first offense.
- 30 months for third offense if it is within 5 years of last offense.
- 4 years for the fourth or subsequent offenses if within 5 years of last offense.
An ignition lock is available for those convicted of DWI but that is up to the Office of Driver Services. You must also complete an alcohol education program or alcohol treatment program and prove your attendance.
Also, those who plead or are found guilty will also receive prison terms as per Arkansas code 5-65-111. Those sentences go as follows:
- 1st offense: 24 hours to 1 year in jail or community service.
- 2nd offense: 7 days to 1 year in jail and 30 days community service.
- 3rd offense: 90 days to 1 year in jail and 90 days community service.
- 4th offense: 1 year to 6 years in jail and 1 year community service.
- 5th offense and after: 2 years to 10 years in jail and 2 years community service.
These sentences become more harsh if you have a child under the age of 16-years-old in the car with you at the time of the offense.
