Will he hurt or kill someone before the legal system catches up to him? That’s the question most people asked themselves when reading last week’s front page story about an East Butler man charged three times with suspicion of drugged driving in a span of about six weeks.

He’s not been convicted, so he’s not in prison. Will he injure or kill himself or an innocent victim before he’s taken off the road?

It’s clear that Dean Minto, 45, needs help — at least he shouldn’t be behind the wheel.

But the legal process takes time, meaning Minto remains free, at least until toxicology tests are completed — even after three suspected drugged driving arrests. His recent history suggests he’s an accident, possibly a fatality, waiting to happen.

Minto’s case is probably rare, so overreacting in search of a solution is a risk. But still, it’s reasonable to ask why the system allows him to remain free, able to drive impaired again.

One possible remedy would be a centralized county database capable of flagging a defendant with arrests in different municipalities. But police and court officials might say maintaining such a database would be one more duty when they already have enough to do. But how else to keep someone like this from slipping through cracks in the system?

Will someone’s teenage driver, spouse or parent be sitting at a traffic light waiting for the signal to change when this suspected repeat drugged driver rear-ends their car?

With three arrests for impaired driving since March, what are the chances he’s been a danger on the road other times, but was not caught by police?

Keeping repeat offenders off the road is a basic protect-the-public function of police and the courts.

Too many times, news reports feature a repeat drunken driver appearing in court for a fifth, sixth or seventh DUI. As with Minto, people wonder how long before these repeat-DUI offenders injure or kill someone?

In Minto’s case, the circumstances are unusual — three suspected drugged driving offenses in little over one month, and in different municipalities.

The most recent incident was in Butler, and two people were injured after he rear-ended their car. Minto’s two earlier arrests happened in Summit Township and Jackson Township.

With no unified database available to alert officials, cases like Minto’s allow an accused serial offender to slip through the cracks, posing a risk to himself and others on the roads.

Court officials are waiting for Minto’s toxicology reports from the state police lab. Presumably if those reports come back positive for drug impairment, then his bond can be raised, making it more likely he will be held in prison until his trial or trials. It’s what should happen when an alleged offender can’t refrain from dangerous behavior.

As troubling as Minto’s case is, it is much less common than the cases of drivers being charged with multiple DUIs over several years. Those people, too, are accidents waiting to happen — and more should be done to keep them off the road.