Wicked Doll
May 16th, 2009, 10:00 AM
An Elkhorn pilot who served six months in jail after crashing his plane into a Milwaukee neighborhood while drunk has been arrested again.
David Betts was charged April 30 with operating while intoxicated.
Betts was flying drunk when he crashed into power lines in the Riverwest neighborhood in 2005. One neighbor reported the plane landed 10 feet from his daughter's bedroom. No one was hurt.
Court records show Betts was convicted seven times for drunken driving between 1990 and 1997. He now has two operating while intoxicated cases pending in Walworth County -- one from last month and one from last year.
The 41-year-old Betts is being held in jail. His attorney says Betts has been in treatment and will dispute that this is his eighth offense.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-wi-pilot-drunkendriv,0,5494958.story
A pilot who crash landed his plane into a Riverwest neighborhood is back in jail again.
David Betts faces a decade in prison.
Betts was drunk at the controls when he crashed his plane into a crowded neighborhood three years ago.
Slideshow: Pilot, Who Crashed Plane, Now Faces 8th OWI
He will be back in court on Monday accused of his eighth and ninth operating while intoxicated charges for a driving incident in Walworth County.
His Friday hearing was delayed so that it can be determined how many previous OWI convictions prosecutors can introduce.
The wires and utility pole damaged in his plane crash have been replaced, but according to court records, Betts is still dealing with the same drinking issues.
Wilfredo Flecha will never forget the day a small plane nearly crashed into his mother's house.
"(We are) lucky he didn't kill nobody," Flecha said.
Betts was flying the plane drunk when he crashed into power lines near Clarke and Humboldt avenues in 2005.
Neighbors frantically called 911.
911 Call Operator: "What fell out of the sky?"
911 Caller: "A plane. An airplane. It's hanging in the wires out here."
One neighbor reported that the plane crashed 10 feet away from the room that his daughter was sleeping in.
Betts spent six months in jail and promised to get sober. According to court records, Betts was recently arrested in Walworth County and is facing charges for his eighth and ninth OWIs.
"Put him in jail," Flecha said. "(He) didn't learn the first time, second time, third time … evidently he's got some major issues."
From 1990 to 1997, Betts was convicted seven times for drunken driving in Wisconsin.
In the past year, he's been arrested twice for OWI, including a few weeks ago when a deputy says Betts smelled of alcohol.
Walworth County Undersheriff Kurt Picknell said he can't talk specifically about the Betts case, but he said these multi-time drunken drivers are playing Russian roulette with everyone's lives.
"I think there needs to be an institutional change of mind with drivers deciding they are not to go out on the road and endangers others after they have been drinking," Picknell said.
Betts is still in custody on $50,000 bail.
http://www.wisn.com/news/19471041/detail.html
Video at second link.
David Betts was charged April 30 with operating while intoxicated.
Betts was flying drunk when he crashed into power lines in the Riverwest neighborhood in 2005. One neighbor reported the plane landed 10 feet from his daughter's bedroom. No one was hurt.
Court records show Betts was convicted seven times for drunken driving between 1990 and 1997. He now has two operating while intoxicated cases pending in Walworth County -- one from last month and one from last year.
The 41-year-old Betts is being held in jail. His attorney says Betts has been in treatment and will dispute that this is his eighth offense.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-wi-pilot-drunkendriv,0,5494958.story
A pilot who crash landed his plane into a Riverwest neighborhood is back in jail again.
David Betts faces a decade in prison.
Betts was drunk at the controls when he crashed his plane into a crowded neighborhood three years ago.
Slideshow: Pilot, Who Crashed Plane, Now Faces 8th OWI
He will be back in court on Monday accused of his eighth and ninth operating while intoxicated charges for a driving incident in Walworth County.
His Friday hearing was delayed so that it can be determined how many previous OWI convictions prosecutors can introduce.
The wires and utility pole damaged in his plane crash have been replaced, but according to court records, Betts is still dealing with the same drinking issues.
Wilfredo Flecha will never forget the day a small plane nearly crashed into his mother's house.
"(We are) lucky he didn't kill nobody," Flecha said.
Betts was flying the plane drunk when he crashed into power lines near Clarke and Humboldt avenues in 2005.
Neighbors frantically called 911.
911 Call Operator: "What fell out of the sky?"
911 Caller: "A plane. An airplane. It's hanging in the wires out here."
One neighbor reported that the plane crashed 10 feet away from the room that his daughter was sleeping in.
Betts spent six months in jail and promised to get sober. According to court records, Betts was recently arrested in Walworth County and is facing charges for his eighth and ninth OWIs.
"Put him in jail," Flecha said. "(He) didn't learn the first time, second time, third time … evidently he's got some major issues."
From 1990 to 1997, Betts was convicted seven times for drunken driving in Wisconsin.
In the past year, he's been arrested twice for OWI, including a few weeks ago when a deputy says Betts smelled of alcohol.
Walworth County Undersheriff Kurt Picknell said he can't talk specifically about the Betts case, but he said these multi-time drunken drivers are playing Russian roulette with everyone's lives.
"I think there needs to be an institutional change of mind with drivers deciding they are not to go out on the road and endangers others after they have been drinking," Picknell said.
Betts is still in custody on $50,000 bail.
http://www.wisn.com/news/19471041/detail.html
Video at second link.