FORT RILEY, Kan. - Capt. Jed Hudson rear detachment commander with 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division takes a sobering approach to combating the high rate of alcohol related incidents in the unit during driving DUI briefing May 19 at Barlow theater on Fort Riley.
The briefing was scheduled to educate Soldiers on the dangers of drinking and driving by hearing true accounts of getting behind the wheel intoxicated from a former military person who’s life has impacted by driving drunk.
Former Air force Capt. and civilian attorney Jarrod Blecha spoke to Soldiers about the dangers of drinking and driving.
Blecha told the crowd about a bad decision that will haunt him for the rest of his life, and affect him and his son and change the lives of the three innocent people forever.
“I got drunk and drove down the wrong way on the highway slamming head-on into a car carrying a family of three," Blecha said. "I woke up in the hospital handcuffed to the bed."
He said he didn’t even remember the incident but was told by officers he blew a .35 at the scene and a .42 two hours later.
Blecha said the driver of the other vehicle he hit was severally injured, but survived.
The victims six-year-old child was critically injured and almost died at the scene. He sustained lower leg injury and is paralyzed from the waist down.
Blecha said it took more than two years, before he was arrested and charged for the crime due to mistakes in the paperwork.
“I was sentenced to eight years in Texas prison, but was released after 180 days and assigned to ‘shock probation’," Blecha said.
Shock probation is the policy, which the judge orders convicted offenders to prison for a short-time and suspends the remainder of the sentences in favor of probation. http://criminal-law.freeadvice.com/criminal-law/parole_probation/schock-probation.htm
Blecha said he was ordered to pay more than $80,000 in restitution to the family and is prohibited from operating a motor vehicle until 2021 and have to travel around talking to groups and military people about the dangers of DUI.
"I had to install a breathalyzer in my home and ordered to write and apologize to the family," I lost my job as an attorney and now live with my dad and work at McDonalds."
Hudson said Blecha story was very eye opening. "Learning about the serve consequences associated with drinking and driving really had the Soldiers paying attention."
The unit regularly holds classes on DUI and has a taxi fund at the staff duty desk to encourage Soldiers to take a taxi home versus driving while intoxicated.
"We tell Soldiers at every safety brief to call someone for a ride if they had too much to drink," 1st. Lt. Scott Nordlund, unit public affair representative, 2nd Bn. 34th AR, 1st ABCT, 1st Inf. Div. said.
| Date Taken: |
05.15.2014 |
| Date Posted: |
08.10.2014 07:41 |
| Story ID: |
138903 |
| Location: |
FORT RILEY, KANSAS, US |
| Web Views: |
119 |
| Downloads: |
0 |
PUBLIC DOMAIN
This work, 'Dreadnaught' take sobering approach to combating the high rate of alcohol related incidents, by Bernhard Lashleyleidner, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
Subscribe
