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Madison County Board member Chrissy Dutton (R-Bethalto) will do anything she can to spare another family from suffering the anguish that struck her own.
Dutton’s brother was killed by a drunk driver in early 2000. That horror was brought to the surface again recently when Dutton learned that former Democratic U.S. Attorney Steven Wigginton was allowed to continue driving after two driving-under-the-influence arrests because of a clerical error.
“If you get off on a technicality, you might be more brazen than ever to do it again,” she told KSDK.com. “That’s my worry.”
Madison County Board member Chrissy Dutton (R-Bethalto)
In DUI cases, court hearings must be scheduled within a month of arrest, the rationale being that allows a judge enough time to decide whether to temporarily suspend the driver’s license of the accused. In Wigginton’s instance, a court clerk wrongly counted the days and a judge could not hear the case in time.
Dutton is not alone in her indignation.
“I am outraged that Mr. Wigginton caught a break,” Madison County Circuit Clerk Mark Von Nida told KSDK. “Mr. Wigginton did not deserve a break. Mistakes happen. That's the bottom line here, but we want to make sure it doesn't happen again.”
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