SACRAMENTO - Modesto ranks eleventh in a new survey released by Men’s Health Magazine revealing the drunkest cities in America.

According to the list, Fresno is the drunkest city in the nation, while Sacramento is ranked 20th.

Five cities in the top 20 ranked by the magazine are located in California.

Boston ranked at the nation’s soberest city, followed by Yonkers, New York.

The magazine relied upon death rates from liver disease, drunk driving crashes and the number of DUI arrests in a particular area.

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An appeals court says an Orange County family can proceed with a lawsuit against the California Highway Patrol over graphic crash photos that were leaked by the agency.
The Fourth District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana on Monday reversed a lower court’s dismissal of the lawsuit against the CHP and two of its employees for leaking the photos of a decapitated teenager that ended up on the Internet.

In the ruling, the court said the family of Nicole “Nikki” Catsouras can pursue damages for negligence, invasion of privacy and infliction of emotional distress.

The CHP admitted that two employees e-mailed nine photos of Nikki’s body to friends and family for apparent shock value on Halloween day in 2006.

An attorney for one of the employees says he is considering an appeal.

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SACRAMENTO, CA - Officials arrested a man for driving while drunk after he caused a head-on collision early Sunday morning, according to authorities.

California Highway Patrol spokesman Michael Panlilio said the unidentified man was driving a silver Lexus heading eastbound on Elverta Road near Levee Road around 12:30 a.m. He swerved into the westbound lanes, colliding head-on with a Honda Civic.

A green Kia travelling behind couldn’t stop in time and subsequently crashed into the Lexus, said Panlilio. That driver was okay.

The woman driving the Honda was trapped inside the car and firefighters cut open the vehicle to save her. Panlilio said she was taken to UC Davis Medical center with a broken leg.

CHP officials arrested the drunk driver of the Lexus, who now faces felony DUI charges. He was taken to Mercy San Juan hospital with major injuries but was expected to survive.

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SACRAMENTO, CA - A man who witnessed a hit and run crash that seriously injured a bicyclist snatched the suspect’s keys from the ignition of her SUV at a red light, according to the California Highway Patrol.

CHP Sgt. Chris Lane said the bicyclist was struck Sunday at 7:20 p.m. on Folsom Boulevard under the Highway 50 overpass and dragged a quarter mile to Norcade Circle.  The white Ford Explorer then struck another vehicle on the street, which tore off the Explorer’s front bumper.  The victim was dislodged from underneath the SUV as the driver made a three-point turn back toward Folsom Boulevard, witnesses said.

Lane said the woman driving the SUV continued west for another three-quarters of a mile before stopping for a red light at Watt Avenue, where the crash witness grabbed the car keys and detained the driver until a CHP officer arrived.

The 24-year-old man who stopped the SUV told CHP officers he did not want to speak to the media or be identified publicly.  His wife stayed at the scene to help the victim while he chased the Explorer.

While praising the driver’s actions, Lane said it’s generally a good idea for witnesses to avoid direct contact and to call 911.

The Explorer was reportedly weaving across the two traffic lanes of westbound Folsom Boulevard before it drifted into the bike lane and hit the cyclist, according to the CHP.

The victim, Sanjay Patel, 26, was taken to the UC Davis Medical Center with serious injuries.  Co-workers at the Subway sandwich shop near the crash site said Patel had just closed the shop and was riding home.  A hospital spokesperson said Patel remained in serious condition Monday.

The SUV driver, Amira Fakira, 23, was arrested on suspicion of felony hit and run, and felony drunken driving.  Sacramento County Jail records indicated Fakira was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail on charges of felony hit and run and suspected drunken driving.  Her arraignment was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon in a jailhouse courtroom.

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A jury deliberated about 2 hours before finding a man guilty of a February 2009 DUI fatality that injured one woman and killed her husband and infant child.

38-year-old Salvador Leon allegedly left a bar in the Earlimart area of California and entered the highway in the wrong direction, heading northbound in a southbound lane. According to reports, Leon did not become alerted when drivers attempted to flash their lights and honk at him. He eventually crashed head on with the young family while traveling about 50 mph.

The crash seriously injured a 22-year-old woman, killed her 23-year-old husband and her 7-month-old baby. Leon was found guilty or two counts of second degree murder, two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and two counts of DUI causing great bodily injury. He will be sentenced for these crimes on March 11.

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A Sacramento man faces DUI charges after a head-on collision involving three cars.

Police said the arrested driver was traveling eastbound on Elverta Road near East Levee Road when he struck another car head on.

Fire officials had to cut off the top of that second car to free the female driver. A third car then slammed into the arrested driver’s car.

No one was seriously hurt.

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Porterville resident Salvador Leon, 38, was found guilty on Tuesday of killing a Camarillo man and a baby last year as he drove drunk the wrong way on Highway 99.

After two hours of deliberation, a jury convicted Leon of two counts of second degree murder, two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and two counts of driving under the influence causing great bodily injury to the surviving victim. His sentencing is scheduled for March 11 in the Visalia Courthouse, where is expected to receive a sentence of more 30 years to life in state prison.

On Feb. 2 2009, Leon left a bar in the Earlimart area and entered the highway headed northbound in the southbound lanes.

He drove more than five miles with a blood alcohol level of .25 — three times more than the legal limit. Numerous drivers attempted to stop Leon by flashing their lights at his car and honking their horns.

Near Avenue 56, while travelling about 50 mph, he collided head-on with a family driving in a Ford Escape. The crash seriously injured a 22-year-old woman, and killed her 23-year-old husband and seven month old baby boy.

Leon had four prior DUI convictions from San Diego County prior to the fatal incident.

The trial began on Jan. 4.

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Mothers Against Drunk Driving presented an award to the Rocklin Police Department after officers competed against other departments to raise money for anti-drunk driving campaigns and services.

MADD Program Specialist Silas Miers presented a statue of a peace officer to Rocklin Police Chief Mark Siemens at last week’s city council meeting.

“It broke the hearts of the Elk Grove Police Department who were in the lead,” Miers said.

Miers said Elk Grove police were the two-time defending champions and they had been leading throughout the competition. It was the first time for Rocklin.

Rocklin Officer Michael Alway helped his department get organized to raise more than $3,300 for the annual “Walk Like MADD,” held in Sacramento on Oct. 17. Volunteers Michelle Rowberry, Patti Lewis and their families represented Rocklin at the walk/run event.

“I put an interdepartmental competition together. Whoever donated or raised the most money could get a pizza party at the end,” Alway said.

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A New Year’s Day accident around 3AM in the San Diego area took the life of a 6-month’s pregnant woman and her unborn child.

Authorities have charged the suspect, 40-year-old Joseph Antony Venegas, with gross vehicular manslaughter and two counts of DUI causing injury. Arraignment for Venegas has been postponed because the driver was in medical isolation; he was only arraigned last Friday on the charges.

21-year-old Elaina Luquis-Ortiz and her unborn child, Romeo Fransisco, were both killed and two others were injured. Venegas was not charged in the death of the fetus, which is possible though not uniformly enforced in the state of California. The decision on this matter is pending.

Luquis-Ortiz was traveling home with her husband from a New Year’s Eve party when they were called to assist another driver with a flat tire. She pulled her own car behind the disabled vehicle to await further assistance. At that point, a much larger Chevrolet Tahoe struck the parked car.

Luquis-Ortis died at the scene nearly immediately upon impact. The other passengers, who she was assisting, suffered serious injuries.

Source: California DUI charge for death of unborn child considered