Polk County Dui Lawyers

A couple from Naples, traveling with two grandchildren, helped Bartow police capture a hit and run driver Wednesday (12/29/10).

The couple was taking their two grandchildren, who were visiting from Greenville, S.C., to Disney World. They were at a traffic light on the northbound side of U.S. 17 at the intersection of County Road 640. In each lane ahead of them were trucks, one a dump truck.

As the light changed and the trucks began to slowly move forward, they said he glanced into the rear view mirror of his car. He saw a maroon-colored vehicle coming upon the intersection at an excessive rate of speed.

“I knew she wasn’t going to be able to stop,” he said. He began to maneuver his car.

“We had to get out of her way,” said one of the witnesses.

Seconds later, the driver of the maroon-colored vehicle, a 2000 Oldsmobile Alero, struck the dump truck which prompted the truck’s driver to pull off the road onto the median. The witness said the car’s driver slowed down and looked in her rear view mirror.

“She’s not staying,” one witness said as the driver took off. “We sped up to get her license plate number.”

As they pursued her, they notified law enforcement officials. Then, without warning, the hit and run driver turned left into a residential neighborhood. The witness had to travel to the next block and made a U-turn in order to continue his pursuit.
Continue reading “Witnesses Help Bartow Police Catch Hit-and-Run, DUI Driver” »

Posted by: admin | Permalink | Email This Post

Several weeks ago, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office issued a report that demonstrated the county’s crime rate had been reduced during the first six months of 2010. The overall rate, which included both non-violent and violent crime was down 3.95 percent compared to the same period in 2009.

The statistics, according to the Uniform Crime Report, showed 230 fewer crimes overall, from 5,829 in 2009 to 5,599 in 2010; this was both violent and non-violent crimes.

“I am very pleased that crime in Polk County in the first six months of 2010 is almost 4 percent lower than in the same period in 2009,” said Sheriff Grady Judd in a news release. He attributed the decline in part to what he termed proactive crime fighting and crime prevention efforts on the part of law enforcement and in partnership with the community.

The results are mixed, however, for Bartow and Lake Wales.

Lake Wales Police Capt. Patrick Quinn blamed an overall 8.3 percent city crime increase on the poor economy.

Statistics used were part of the Uniformed Crime Reports used for both Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Stats were compiled for two, six-month time periods: Jan. 1 through June 30, 2009, and the same time period for 2010.

Aggravated assaults were up 31 percent, for 21 total crimes. Shoplifting was up 34 percent and there were six motor vehicle thefts for a 20 percent increase. Good news: Robberies dropped by half and burglaries were cut by almost 18 percent.
Continue reading “Crime rate drops in Bartow” »

Posted by: admin | Permalink | Email This Post