Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 31, 1994 TAG: 9501030069
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Medium
Norma Hooks says drunken driver Earl Norton, 19, needs help.
``How many people have to be hurt and how many lives destroyed before they take him off the street?'' Hooks asked.
Norton's punishment for both wrecks was a $100 fine and a restricted driver's license.
Hooks was injured early Oct.9. She heard tires squealing and saw two headlights bearing down on her.
``I went over as far as I could, but there was nowhere else to go,'' Hooks said. ``The last thing I remember are the lights. Then I was begging him to help get me out of the car, but he just screamed and cursed at me.''
Norton's car sideswiped Hooks' car on the driver's side, then traveled 50 feet before stopping. Both cars were demolished.
According to a police report, Norton said he was driving 20 mph when Hooks' car struck his. But the officer said Norton was at fault because his car crossed to the wrong side of the road and struck Hooks' vehicle.
At the time, Norton was awaiting trial for another drunken-driving incident two months earlier. No one was injured in that crash.
Court records show that in the first case, Norton's blood-alcohol level was 0.17 percent; in the earlier accident, it was 0.18 percent. The legal limit for someone under the drinking age of 21 is 0.02.
Hooks no longer can work as a house cleaner. She can no longer bowl, and she can't go dancing with her fiance. Every move Hooks makes brings pain, she says.
If Norton's license had been taken away after the first wreck, he may not have been on the street to hurt her, she said.
``I want him off the street,'' Hooks said. ``If he goes out and kills someone, I will feel as guilty as he will if I didn't do something. That boy has no remorse, and I know he will do it again. The next time he may kill someone, and the state gave him a license to do it.''
Because Norton had not been tried for the first accident, the two cases were tried together Nov.8 in Newport News General District Court. He pleaded guilty to two counts of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Both convictions were considered first offenses because the teen-ager had not been convicted of drunken driving when the second accident occurred, said Newport News Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Jim Patterson.
At Norton's trial, Patterson argued for jail time.
Judge James H. Harvell III sentenced Norton to five months in jail, then suspended the time. Harvell allowed Norton to keep his license with a restricted status for 12 months - meaning the teen can drive to and from work and to the court-ordered Alcohol Safety Action Program.
Norton also was fined $500 for each offense. Harvell suspended all but $50 of the fines, leaving the teen with $100 to pay plus court costs.
Norton's attorney, Michael Mulkey of Newport News, declined to comment.
The judge's sentence fell within the guidelines recommended for people under 21 who are convicted of driving under the influence.
by CNB