Articles by andrewtraub/page/13

A state appeals court upheld the conviction of Martin DiCarlo, a 47-year-old Williamson County man sentanced to life in prison in 2008 after his seventh drunken driving conviction. On Friday, the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin rejected DiCarlo’s arguments that prosecutors improperly questioned potential jurors and ruled that a recorded jailhouse phone conversation between…

A man convicted of intoxication manslaughter has been sentenced to prison for a wreck that killed a Johnson County woman. Brandon Burchfield, 19, got a 10-year sentence in the 2008 death of Nogaelda Zavala.  Burchfield had a blood-alchohol level more than twice the legal limit when the wreck occured.

Texas law already requires buckling up in the front seat, and starting September 1, it’ll be the law to do so in the back seat, too. The change affects people 17 and older; those 16 and under are already required to wear a seat belt in the back seat. Getting the measure passed into law…

The seat belt law is one of several driving that take effect Sept. 1. Others include: Children under 8 have to be in a child safety seat or a booster seat unless they are 4 feet 9 inches tall. Under the current law, only children under 5 and shorter than 36 inches have to he…

Austin firetrucks now must drive the speed limit and come to a complete stop at intersections while responding to calls, according to a new city policy that has upset the firefighters union. Fire Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr said the policy is intended to improve safety for firefighters and motorists. But Steven Truesdell, president of the…

A woman was taken to University Medical Center Brackenrisge hospital by STARFlight Saturday afternoon after she was badly burned on her face during a vehicle crash on Texas 71 West. The three-vehicle collision took place about 12:30 p.m. near the intersection with Preserve Way.  Nine people were involved in the collision.  Four others besides the…

Police are looking for the driver of a pickup that crashed Sunday morning in the 6100 block of Reicher Drive in Northeast Austin, leaving a passenger dead. About 6 a.m. Sunday, the driver lost control of a teal Chevrolet pickup, and if flipped over, police said. The driver fled and has not been identified. Police…

In most states, if somebody is texting behind the wheel and causes a crash that injures or kills someone, the penalty can be as light as a fine. Utah is much tougher. After a crash here that killed two scientists, Utah passed the nation’s toughest law to crack down on texting behind the wheel. Offenders…

Austin police early Tuesday drew the blood of a drunken driving suspect — without a previously required search warrant who was involved in a crash and had an 11-year-old boy in the car. The incident happened 28 minutes after a new law took effect that gives police wider authority in the types of cases in…

Robert Benn, who had just flown into Austin after the birth of his third grandchild, was heading from the airport to his hotel about 10 p.m. Monday when police said he neared Airport Boulevard and Bolm Road in East Austin. Just then, investigators said, a motorist in a Lincoln Navigator suspected of drunken driving began…