Westlake Man Gets 5th DWI

So much for,'Three strikes and you're out.' Brent Hetzler just got his 5th DWI and that's just the beginning of the new charges facing him.

I know I'm naive, but I thought after 2 or 3 DWI's they would remove people from the rest of society for awhile. I guess not since lately, we've been seeing a lot of repeat offenders in the news.

How do we keep people like this off the streets? Even going along with the theory that everyone is assumed to be innocent until proven guilty. This guy already has 4 DWI's not counting the one he just got and yet, he's able to get behind the wheel and drive.

This time around though, there was a child in the car. Neither the driver nor the child was using a seat belt.

From the official release:

 Sgt. James Anderson, spokesman for Troop D, said Brent Hetzler has been charged with fifth-offense DWI with child endangerment, tampering with an interlock device, driving left of center, texting while driving and no seat belt.

"Impaired driving and distracted driving are leading causes of crashes in our state," Anderson said. "Combing the two significantly increases the likelihood of a crash. While impaired driving is never acceptable behavior, driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs with children in the vehicle carries enhanced penalties under Louisiana state law."

 

The question remains. How do we keep people like this off the streets?