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StumbleWoman whose husband died in crash faces felony DUI charges
Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009 | 4:46 p.m.
Approximate crash location
Formal felony charges of driving under the influence, reckless driving and involuntary manslaughter have been filed against a woman in the Aug. 26 crash that killed her husband on U.S. 93.
Melanie Moses-Sisco, 36, is scheduled to appear Nov. 10 in Boulder City Justice Court on the charges.
Terry Sisco, 34, a security guard at the Hacienda casino, died after the Dodge truck Moses-Sisco was driving north from the Hacienda left the road and rolled. Sisco was not wearing a seat belt. They had been married for five years.
Moses-Sisco, who was a waitress at the Hacienda, had told police her husband came to the casino to pick her up after her shift about 10 p.m., and they both had a few drinks before leaving just before 4:30 a.m., according to a police report.
She was released from the Clark County Detention Center on her own recognizance in early September after test results showed her blood-alcohol level at 0.066 and 0.043. Chief Deputy District Attorney Ronald Bloxham sent Boulder City Justice of Peace Victor Lee Miller a letter stating he had no objection to releasing her at the time.
Once the investigation was complete, the District Attorney’s office decided there was enough evidence to charge her with felony driving under the influence, reckless driving and involuntary manslaughter, Bloxham said.
“We believe the facts involved in the case would justify the conviction on any of those,” Bloxham said.
The legal definition of drunken driving is 0.08, but impaired driving can be demonstrated at levels below that, he said.
According to the police report, the samples for the blood-alcohol test were taken at 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., hours after the crash.
No attorney of record was on file for Moses-Sisco, and attempts to reach her were unsuccessful.
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another tragedy because of drinking/driving; when will they learn?
They only had a "few drinks" from 10pm to 4:30am?
Yeah...right
hey magoo61,
Reread the article. Those BAC numbers were taken hours after the crash and if the numbers were still .066 after HOURS, somebody's got some explaining to do.
They could have gotten a room at the hotel/casino and sobered up so they could drive a vehicle (and buckle down the seatbelt) isntead of tragically rolling over a vehicle on the highway. When will the nation's drunks and dopers ever learn? Only when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to right things up down here.
Maybe she was sneaking a drink at the station?
Just because she had alcohol in her system does NOT mean that's what caused the accident! I am so sick & tired of hearing how alcohol is the cause of all these accidents. Everyday there are numerous accidents where there's not a drop of alcohol involved, the accident was caused by something else, but once there's an ounce of alcohol involved...that's it!! It had to be caused by the alcohol, nothing else could have possibly been the cause!! BS!!
Well, this is a case of a DA with too much time on their hands. Why didn't the idiot cops who arrived on the scene test her BAC then or right after at the hospital or police station? Can't blame alcohol on every crash but they sure try. Even if she were drunk at the time of the crash - which is a crime - there's no way to tell with botched police work. Maybe she was on her cell.
So stupid... She was UNDER the legal limit, she lost her husband, if he was wearing his seatbelt he would be alive. Why does our JUSTICE system feel the need to make her suffer more, she is not a threat to society, and has paid a huge price, just another waste of taxpayers money.. Who hasn't had a drink or two and drove, if you are under the limit, whats the problem?
Leave her alone to deal with her sadness.
WHY DOES ALCOHOL COME UNDER SO MUCH ATTACK??
rpm6600, obviously you do not understand how the criminal justice system works, yet you make uneducated and uninformed comments.
Let me start by educating you on the following:
DUI is a misdemeanor offense. As much as the public, prosecutors and police would like to see the person never get out of jail, we do have something in this country called a Constitution. We also have laws: federal, state, county and city. There are also things called rules, regulations, policies and procedures within each entity of the criminal justice system as well. I say this to emphasize that there are reasons that things are done a certain way. Depending on the circumstances, the process may go a different route then normal.
I am sure the DA doesn't have as much time on his hands as you think, but then again you are obviously not a lawyer, so you wouldn't understand this.
Did you suggest the 'idiot cops,' take a BAC on scene? Since when are police able to stick a needle in a persons vein to withdrawal blood? News flash....they aren't. The breathalyzers they carry are used to add, or substantiate, probable cause for arrest. The breathalyzers at the jails are used in court for conviction.
Also, the 'idiot cops,' as you put it, do not test people at police stations either.
As for the hospital, a blood sample can be taken there by a nurse. However, those results are not immediate. They are sent to a lab for analysis - which takes time, hence the initial release on the persons own recognizance.
Now when the results of the investigation are submitted to the DA - including the blood results, formal charges can be filed.
DUI is a crime, like it, or not. If you cause a death and you are committing the crime of DUI, you will be charged for causing that death. This is how law is enforced.
Come back tomorrow for another educated lesson in life.