Man from Delaware County, PA Arrested for 11th DUI Two Days After Release from Jail
A man from Upper Darby, Pennsylvania has, according to police, landed back in jail on his 11th DUI arrest.
James John Duggan, 54 years old, posted $1,000 bail on July 9th, and left Delaware County prison, where he had been incarcerated on DUI charges since March. A mere two days after he left prison, according to reports, he went on a bender and his a motorcyclist.
The 31-year-old female victim, who police declined to identify, remains hospitalized with two broken wrists, a broken arm, a fractured pelvis, and broken right ankle.
Duggan’s driver’s license has been suspended and expired since 1994. Regardless, according to police reports, at 9 PM on July 11th, Duggan got behind the wheel of a Nissan after drinking all day. He pulled out of the restaurant parking lot, and into the path of an oncoming motorcycle. The motorcyclist honked her horn, but could not avoid the collision with Duggan’s vehicle.
After the DUI-related crash, Duggan allegedly ran back into the restaurant, where he was found in the bathroom attempting to clean himself up.
“He told police he had been drinking all night, then made the decision to drive intoxicated, a decision he’d made 10 other times,” Police Lt. Scott Willoughby said. He added, “Obviously he’s extremely dangerous … He has a total disregard for anyone’s safety as well as his own.”
Duggan’s first DUI arrest came in 1983, followed closely by more DUIs in 1984, 1992, two in 1994, 1997, 2002, and two in 2006. His 10th DUI arrest was March of this year. Tinicum Police Chief Stephen Edmiston said that Duggan received additional charges on top of the DUI for aggravated assault because he almost struck another vehicle. His original bail for the incident was $50,000, but was lowered to $1,000 at a hearing on March 29th. He stayed in prison from the end of March to July 9th, when he finally posted bail.
Duggan also, reportedly, has eight reportable motor vehicle accidents on his driving record since 1984, although it is unclear how many of those are related to DUI incidents. “His driver’s license is suspended until 2039,” Willoughby said. “Even with the ignition lock, he’ll drive someone else’s car,” he added. “He’s going to get out of jail, he’s going to drink again and going to drive again.”
Traditional deterrents like suspended licenses, fines, and jail time do not stop chronic DUI offenders like Duggan.
“It would seem there would be more done to keep these types of habitual offenders off the road,” Willoughby said. “There is a woman in the hospital suffering serious injuries. She’s got a long road ahead to recover because of his malice. He obviously doesn’t care about that.”
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