uce and it's incredible. make sure you get it with waffle fries, because that's my favorite. on "news4 this week" walking free. drunk drivers getting off easy after crashes on one our area's deadliest roadways. the news4 i-team with the numbers you won't believe. pumping the akes. maryland's governor is urged to slow do plan to expand parts of 270 and the beltway, but the governhi is p back. and from homeless to georgetown universit a young woman's journey to her college graduation almost complete. welcome to "news4 this week." >> hi, everybody, i'm jim handly. we begi with a news4 i-team investigation. if you have ever driven it, you know indian head highway is already one of our region's most

dangerous roads. this week the i-team uncovered a new concer an investigation by scott mcfarlane raises queoions whether accused drunk drivers are getsyng off too >> reporter: it's one of maryland's busiest roads. and one of the deadliest. in february, a driver killed in 55 car was rear-ended at miles an hour. a mother killed crossing the street last march. d in december, a heart-breaking case whe three children died when a suspected drunk driverruck their parents. >> the most gut-wrenching part was when those children were killed on 210. >> reporter: cynthia jones knows the pain it can cause. a suspect speeder crashed into and killeder cousin backn 2011. >> same area where the children were involved in the crash. >> reporte even before that, she knew the danger.

she never saw them. >> reporter: a decade earlier, a drunk driver hit and killed jones' sister. >> he hits her from behind,er lifts up out of her shoes. >> reporter: a tragedy that still haunts her family and is relived every time she hears of another accident. >> we still wish we still had her. >> reporter: the state approved new speed cameras for the highway and local leaders promise more traffic enforcement. the i-team found another issue contributing to the problems on this road. pulling police reports of every drunk driving crash between january 2016 and december 2018 on this highway, we found 44 drivers prosecuted for drunk driving and crashing, including crashes which injured other people. five of those people were sentenced to any jail time. and for those five, sentences were reduced to only a handful of days, often because they included other charges. that's a problem, says the new state's attorney. >> we looked back at the last few dozen dui crashes on indian

head highway. almost nobody goes to jail, even people with multipleoffenses. is that acceptable? >> it is not acceptable and will not be acceptable uner my administration. >> reporter: the i-team found most of those charged received somethi called probation before judgment, or pbj. it's used in many state court systems, including maryland's, allowing defendants to avoid jail time by immediately serving probation. >> i think the state's torney's office did a really good job in bringing forward these cases but the justice system did not take the cases seriously. >> repter: nearly a dozen legal analysts say during the three-year span reviewed by the i-team dui cases were handleden differtly in prince george's county than other parts of the state. where cases init circ court were managed by one judge who ran what's known as a rocket docket. a system operated to move cases faster. atrneys tell us it was known for dispensing lighter sentences in the name of speed. >> does that surprise you?

>> doesn't surprise me at all, no. we don't s jail offenses for drunk drivers. and that's concerning. >> reporter: madd says whahe i-team found the county is too lenient on drunk ivers. >> they're walking out with a slap on the hand and going out and reoffending. >> reporter: the maryland court system acknowledges it's been using a unique systemne with o judge pushing them through. they said the judge recently eft the bench for unrelated reasons and now all 24 judges in the circuit court system can hear and rule on duis. hi for cy jones, she hopes the court system's proposed changes will stiffen dui penalties. >> it's a disaster in waiting for anyone who drives on 210, and a lot of people do avoidit. >> reporter: she prays she won't hear of another famil on the news dealing with another loss. >> she jas the heart and of our family. >> reporter: taken away on this dangerous stretch of road. scott mcfarlane, news4 i-team.

>> now, to read more about this story and snd a tip to our i-team, just visit our nbc washington app and click on investigations. d,> morning and night, weekday or weekenaryland highways are congested. maryland's governor is pushing a plan now to widen roads in our area to alleviate congestion, but not everybody is onboard. news4's nicole jacobs explains the controversy and the governor's response. >> repoer: rush hour on any gen road in the dmv -- >> almost constant traffic. >> reporter: can be a nightmare. >> 270 for me the traffic is congested. >> reporter: just ask anyone who travels the bw parkway orrs inte 270. >> traffic in maryland is pretty bad. e belt way, 270, it's not good. >> reporter: but a $9 billion roposal to alleviate all of this stcongen, which by governor larry hogan is raising eyebrows and tension. >> this proposal has been managed like the runaway bus in

the movie "speed." it's our job to slow it down. >> reporter: a quickly planned meeting held at the silver spring civic center shows the scope of the frustration, and word of the governor's plan to widen parts of 270 and the bw w parkwayle also adding tolls is spreading. >> everybody is saying this is h bunc of crap. we may enough taxes as it is around here.r: >> reporte governor hogan fi he called the meeting a roadkill rally and released a statement reang these anti-congestion relief activists show no regard for the hundreds of thousands of marylanders stuck in soul-crushing congestion. maryland has outgrownitself, says some commuters, wondering how they'll adjust and where they'll put everything. >> they're trying to build up to be able to, you know, make more space for more people. but our infrastructure is kind of old nopo >> reer: nicole jacobs,

news4. nearly five years ago we introduced you to a remarkable young woman, graduated at the top of her high school class in d.c. and earned a full scholarship to georgetown university, despite being homeless. only on 4, our mark segraves sits down with nson now that her journey to graduation is almost complete. >> make us d.c. proud. >> reporter: rashem nelson, her younger brother and their mother spent five years without a ptoce all home. >> it was it had a really negative impact on me and my younger brother fr moving house to house or couch to couch or hotel to hotel and finally making it to the shelter. >> reporter: while they were tough years, nelson stayed ne focused onthing, getting to college. >> i knew that education was the only way out. >> reporter: she graduated valedictorian and got a full scholarship to georgetown university. but nelson knew the hard work

was just starting. >> i was there with the most elite people, you know, in the country. it was just like i'm thisgirl, graduated from anacostia hig school. i'm not sure if i can meet the standards. i questioned myself and doubted myself. >> reporter: nelson may hado ubted herself but never gave up. next week she'll get her diploma from georgetown. >> it's been a struggle. it's been aur joney. and this is just me making it to the finish line of one of the races of my life. i know there's many more to come. >> reporter: nelson has a job lined up and plans to go to law school. >> i want to advocate for impoverished and underserved communities. >> reporter: but this fall she'll be focused on her younger brother,eard, who also g into college with a football scholarship at syracuse. >> it just brings tears to my es every time i think about it. we're doing something that we didn't think e could dod

people didn't think we could do, buwe're doing it. >> reporter: in the district, mark segraves, news4. >> she is amazing. the last time we spe to rashema she planned to go to medical school. she changed her mind because she wants to do advocacy work for families in underserved communities. when we come back, summer means crabs from the chesapeake bay, right? we're getting a status update on how the craboi population is dng this season. plus pain-tingling numbness, nerve damage blamed on fitness trackers. a doc r details how to protect your bod dale's little girl is heading to college. utluckily, her dorm is abo 10 minutes from a hotel by wyndham. ashley's meeting all her in-laws, and she's about 10 minutes from a hotel by wyndham. jeff is flying to.... oh never mind. but hey, 10 minutes from a wyndham. he's having the best. day. ever! and he's about 10 minutes... 10 minutes from a hotel by wyndham. with over 6,000 hotels across the country,

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when you finance through gm financial. that's just over 7 thousand on this envision premium. and this a loving reminder from his wife.ill preparing for take-off. this is will finally depositing that expense check. oh, and this is will paying his brother-in law back with zelle for their annual camping trip.

and this is will finally relang for the long flight. this is your right here, right now bank. this is wells fargo. crab feefasts in our regionb couldome more plentiful than years past because the blue crab population has hit a level seen since 2 20 the .

it's up about 60% from last year standing at594 million. twice hers found nearly as many juvenile crabs as the be years re. first responders show exceptional courage and selflessness every day. in alexandria this week,news4's aaron gilchrist helped recognize them for their life-saving bravery. the chamber of commerce presented valor awards to firefighters, sheriff's deputies and 911 dispatchers. aaron narrated the program wit stories of heroism and courage displayed by these men and women. up next, we're working for your health today with a warning for anyone who wears a fitness tracker on their wrist. why some people experience pain and numbness and what you can do to keep from injuring yourself. our consumer reporter, susan sh hogan, ares what you need to know before you put your pet on a fresh food diet. details after the break.

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kibble for your pet? not these days. seems fido is getting finecky. morech of you are oosing to feed your pet fresh food. susan hogan has what you need to know before jumping on the gravy train. >> reporter: meet my pet, 6-month-old coda and 10-year-old sad sadie. they're both kibble eaters but they could not t e more opposit mes to how they eat. coda takes all of 40 seconds to gobble up hers, whereas sadie, well, yeah, there's that. i decided i had to figure out a solution for a finicky friend. dave shaw is a pet nutritionist and owns the pet nutrition center. he's noticed a feeding frenzy of fresh pet food. pet owners gobbling up free

packaged meals of meat and ckages of frozen p raw meat. >> you've got venison, ground lamb bone, lamb, lamb kidney, lamb spleen, it's a fully balanced diet. >> reporter: dave says younger buyers are fueli the trend, buying pet foods they think are sp safer and more natural. >> what'sappropriate for a dog to eat. bundles of corn, rice, peas? no, it'smeat. reporter: so is a fresh food diet better than kibble? well, it all depends on the protein content. >> 38%, the highest one we have right now. >> reporter: and where that protein comes from matters, so check the labe >> 85% of it is coming from poultry, fish and eggs in that one. do you see what i'm saying? >> i do. > it's not coming from peas or garbanzo beans, lentils, it's coming from meat. >> reporter: whether you choose

kibble with high protein content or a fresh food diet, both will te a bite out of your wallet. but because you are feeding your pet a healthier diet, they need smaller posotions. >> you'll get more feedings out of this five-pound bag than a five-pound bag of high grain food. >> reporter: and dave says mou may savee money keeping your pet healthier longer. as for sadie, we're transitioning her to a raw food diet. so far, i'll just let this clean bowl speak for itself. >> godi sa vets say it's not a good idea to mix fresh food with dry food except for when you are first transitioning your pet. bottom line, don't change your pet's diet without talking to your vet first. our pet could experience stomach troubles if you don't do it the right way. a potential healthle a for those of you who wear those fitness trackers around your wr

st. they're causing some people serious pain, and now the maker of a popular device has some tips on the best and safest way to wear them.ot a fitbit for the teps est of tracking my and you get to that magic number, 10,000. >> reporter: rich williamson likes to stay active and he's used a fitness tracker to counting his steps. almost a year after starting to ar his new fitbit charge 2, he says he developed serious pain and numbness in his left wrist. >> i went to turn my wrist andn it f locked up. i had to kind of twist it back to get it to release. >> reporter: he says the pain was so bad it was difficult to do simple tasks like brush his hair. >> and my hand was so numb that i actually had to switch the hair brush to the other hand. then i really started to get very concerned. r: >> reporte williamson had a hunch that hisfi ess tracker might have something to do with his pain, so he went online and

was surprised to learn he wasn't alone. >> when i googled fitbit wrist pain and saw there was whole world out there of people that were experiencing the same issues at different levels, same thing just happened to me, it fells like nerve pain. >> reporter: dr. oliver tanuse is a surgeon with medstar washington hospital center and he knows what nerve damage looks like. he thinks people are wearing their fitness devices too tighy. >> so that fitness tracker on your wrist being compressed 24 urs a day. it's just a matter of timeor be the nerve starts to act up. hence, pain, numbness, tingling or weakness going down into thea . >> reporter: if you start to feel pain, the solution may be as simple as taking the fitness tracker off. >> numberone, take it off a couple of days and give the nerve time to rest. >> reporter: fitbit had this advice. encourage anyone wearing a watch or other device on the

wrist regardless of the brand tw follour key elements for the best experience. keep it clean, keep it dry, and wear it too tightly give your wrist a rest. they recommend wearing the band loosely enough so that it can move back and forth on your st wri. fitbit also offered to give rich williamson a refund in exchangee for the ice, but he declined. >>f and i you ask me am i going to put my fitbit back on, the answer would be absolutely not. and when we come ba this morning, a special honor coming ter this year to a stand-up comedy great. dave chappelle.

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the ti is right at lowe's. lucashley's meeting alls,t 10 minutes from a hotel by wyndhaml and she's about 10 minutes from a hotel by wyndham. jeff is flying to.... oh never mind. but hey, 10 minutes from a wyndham.e heand he's about 10 nutes... 10 minutes from a hotel by wyndham. with over 6,000 hotels across the country, a great hotel by wyndham is closer than you think. book direct at wyndhamhotels.com moving? that's harder now because of psoriatic arthritis. ll but you're sti moved by moments like this. don't let psoriatic arthritis take them away. taltz reduces joint in and stiffness and helps stop the progression of joint damage. for people with moderate to severe psoriasis, if 90% saw signicant improvement. taltz even gives you a chance at completely clear skin. don't use if you're allergic to taltz.

before starting, you should be checked for tuberculosis. taltz may increase risk of infections and lower your ability toight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection, symptoms, or received a ccine or plan to. infection, symptoms, inflammatory bowel disealt can happen with ta including worsening of symptoms. serious allergic reactions can cur. for all the things th move you. ask your doctor about taz. oh, it's going to be good. a d.c. native will receive this year's prestigious mark twain prize for humor at the kennedy center. this week we learned dave chappelle will get the nod this year. he is known for his edgy, sometimes controversial comedy about race, family and relationships. he'll be honored at a

star-studded gala here in octob. he went t duke ellington school of the arts here and joins the acts of past recipients including eddie murphy, dave te letan and whoopi goldberg. that's going to do it for us. i'm jim handly. we thank you for joining us and have a great week, everybody.

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>> announcer: "news4 today" starts now. gunfire in a maryland office park leaves one woman dead. this morning police scrambling to track down the shooter. two major road closures to walkou through today that to have you turned around on where you needto go on this mother's day weend. a shortage you wouldn't expect. the party is over for dozen of fun stores around thetr couny. it's 6:00 on this saturday, the 11th of may, 2019. welcome in to "news4 today." good morning. i'm david culver. thanks fong joinius. a wet start to your tart after a washout from