Recently in DUI Laws in Philadelphia:

Jeremy Irons, a 39-year-old man from Windber, will stand trial for a drunken motorcycle accident. The most shocking part of the accident was not that Irons was drunk and riding a motorcycle with a blood alcohol level over twice the legal limit, but that he had his four-year-old nephew straddled onto the bike's gas tank when he crashed.

In October, Irons lost control of his bike in western Pennsylvania and struck a guard rail, reports The Associated Press. Both he and his four-year-old nephew suffered serious injuries as a result of the accident. Irons had a blood alcohol level of 0.19 percent, well over twice the legal limit of 0.08. Irons now faces aggravated assault while driving drunk charges and child endangerment charges for the Pennsylvania DUI.

Michael Bills was arrested for drunk driving. The Susquehanna County man had five juvenile children in his car at the time of arrest. The 45-year-old has been charged with driving under the influence and reckless endangerment, reports Fox 40.

You may be surprised to know that Pennsylvania does not provide a special penalty for people who drive drunk with minors in their vehicles. In many states, the law provides that someone who drives drunk with a child faces enhanced penalties. In Pennsylvania, someone who drives drunk with a child faces the same DUI penalties as any other driver with the penalty largely dependent upon the driver's blood alcohol level at time of arrest.

Paul Jones drove drunk with a blood alcohol level well over three times the legal limit after taking an Oxycodone pill. He drunkenly drove into a bicyclist, Randall Bratu, hurling him 30 yards into the air and killing him.

Jones didn’t stop after killing Bratu, but continued driving in Lansdowne before striking a mini-van head-on that was carrying two women and a young child, reports the Daily Times. But not even this second accident stopped Jones. He was only stopped after the women in the mini-van gave police partial tag information and a vehicle description. So what penalty did Jones get for this fatal DUI?

Brennen Letukas pleaded guilty on Thursday to killing his best friend and seriously injuring another friend in a Bucks County DUI last year.

The 24-year-old Langhorne man will face at least three years in state prison for the fatal DUI accident, reports phillyBurbs.com.

Nicholaus DeSimone is a troubled young man and is facing his second DUI charge at the ripe age of 20.

This time, DeSimone not only damaged his own car and caused injuries to himself, he also struck a flagman in an active work zone, reports the Daily Times. To make matters worse, DeSimone was not arrested for ordinary drunk driving, but instead cops found heroin and syringes in his car and the 20-year-old has been charged with driving under the influence of a controlled substance.

Brian Broust refused to pull over when police tried to stop him for a suspected DUI. A police chase was initiated, but the pursuit was called off shortly due to weather conditions. The 21-year-old Broust continued to speed away and got into a car crash, killing the York County DUI suspect.

The crash occurred in the early morning hours last Friday, reports WGAL. At 2:37 a.m., police reported that they attempted to stop a vehicle on North George Street for suspicion of DUI. The vehicle failed to yield for the officer and a pursuit briefly followed for two blocks on North George Street near Masonic Drive.

There were hundreds of DUI arrests and accidents in the Philadelphia-area during 2011, and we covered the most interesting on this blog. The Philadelphia DUI stories ranged from the tragic to the comedic, involving high-ranking politicians, celebrities, and low-life criminals.

As 2011 winds down, we recap the top 5 Philadelphia DUI stories of 2011:

Jean McCarthy got into a minor car accident over the weekend in Toms River, New Jersey. The 71-year-old woman was not injured in the accident and her 74-year-old husband came to pick her up. As the couple drove home, their car was struck head-on by a drunk driver in a second accident.

Jean McCarthy was killed in the Toms River DUI and her husband was seriously injured, reports The Associated Press.

Megan Rossi had Nordiazepam, Oxazepam, Clonazepam, Alprazplam, Oxycodone, and 7-Amino Clonazepam in her system when she drove off the road and struck a man mowing his lawn, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

While none of these drugs are illegal drugs like marijuana or cocaine, Rossi still faces drugged driving charges and could see jail time for critically injuring the victim.

As a juvenile, Sean O'Neill shot and killed his friend, reports the Associated Press. Five years later, and after a stint in a juvenile detention center, O'Neill has again run into trouble with the law -- this time allegedly driving drunk and crashing his car into a house.

O'Neill, a 22-year-old man from Chester County, should consider himself fortunate that he did not kill or injure another in this accident. But as charges are currently pending, it will be interesting to see what kind of penalty he faces.