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Kiefer Sutherland of television's "24" was already on probation for a 2004 drunk driving charge when he was picked up for DUI (driving under influence) in 2007. He was sentenced to 48 days in jail and served his sentence. Sutherland has evidently been charged with DUI numerous times in prior years. Also charged with probation violation during the 2007 incident, he was placed on probation for five more years. So far, Sutherland is lucky in that he has not yet maimed or killed anyone.

Not so lucky is actor Lane Garrison who appeared in Fox's Prison Break during its first and second seasons. A chance meeting with teenage girls at a supermarket resulted in their inviting Lane to attend a party with them. En route to the party, Lane who was already driving drunk, lost control. One girl died and another was seriously injured.

In 2006, thirty-two percent of all U.S. traffic fatalities involved an alcohol-impaired driver with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher (AlcoholAlert.com). Over thirteen-thousand men, women and children died that year in vehicular crashes caused by drunk drivers.

Celebrity or not, drunk drivers are a danger and need to be taken off the road. Highway deaths, with a motorized vehicle as the weapon and a drunk driver "pulling the trigger", need to lead to more severe jail sentences or even the death penalty just as would happen with any other murder conviction.

Because of a recent rash of actors busted for DUIs, we sometimes fail to recognize that a celebrity doesn't always come out of the Hollywood acting genre. Simply being widely-recognized, or famous, and receiving a great deal of public attention will afford a person the celebrity status. Paris Hilton, for instance, receives much of her celebrity attention because of her wealth and a highly visible daily life. Paris' drunk driving arrest in 2006 was her first, although she asserted she'd only had one drink and wasn't drunk. Her blood alcohol level was at the minimum of .08.

Oscar-winning screenwriter, Roger Avary of Pulp Fiction fame, was arrested too late. A passenger died in a car crash in which Avary was the driver. In addition, his wife Gretchen was ejected from the car and injured. Avary was charged with suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and DUI.

Actor Lane Garrison appeared in Fox's Prison Break during the first and second seasons. A chance meeting with teenage girls at a supermarket resulted an invitation to party. Already drunk, Lane lost control of the car he was driving on their way to the party. One girl died and another was seriously injured.

Americans gather around the television, tune in their radios and scan through daily newspapers, hungering for the latest sighting in celebrity scandals. Who will be next, they wonder, and what will they get away with. Thousands die as a result of drunk driving. Some of the drivers will be celebrities.

It's time to concentrate on the majority, not only the celebrities. It's time to look at them all as dangerous drivers who need to be taken off the road, permanently. It's time to impose stricter sentences on every DUI offender, particularly those who cause deaths.It is also time to lobby for harsher punishments for anyone busted for DUI, celebrity or not.

Learn more about this author, Kathleen Richardson.
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