Category: Drunk Driving Accidents

The holiday season is known for many things: parties, family, snow…all of which can make this December full of wonderful occasions. Tennessee residents know how sometimes the parties can spill a little late into the night, or the roads can be tricky to maneuver – things that make driving home a little harder and a lot more dangerous. Per official statement, President Barack Obama has declared that December be National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, in an effort to keep the distracted driving potential at minimum and all drivers safer during the season.

The preventative methods begin with increasing public awareness about the different kinds of distracted driving that could so impair drivers this winter and at any time. Things such as medication that is prescribed; alcohol; and using a cellular phone while driving are all mentioned and cautioned against as they can all cause a driver to lose focus and not be able to safely manage their vehicle.

There has been a lot of talk about the kinds of dangerous habits drivers are getting used to, and the amount of easy access to phones or GPS devices may be adding to the potential to drive distracted. It’s important for Tennessee parents to talk with our kids and peers about what is safe and what is unsafe when we’re driving. The biggest thing to remember is that it’s not just the driver’s life that’s at risk, but everyone else in and around that car.

Should a Tennessee resident feel they have been involved in an accident due to the distracted driving of another driver, learning about the distracted driving laws in your area is one step to take. The hope is that with this month’s focus on safety on the roads, there will be fewer accidents as a result of impaired driving, however; for those unfortunate few who are or have suffered the loss of a job or loved one due to an accident, working with an attorney is one way to help cope with the stress.

Source: whitehouse.gov, “Presidential Proclamation – National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, 2012,” Office of the Press Secretary, Nov. 30, 2012

Driving drunk is something so dangerous and reckless that it puts the driver as well as anyone else in the vicinity at risk of being harmed. The kind of impairment to one’s abilities is often so vast that motor vehicle skills require much too much focus and coordination for a person under the influence to be in control of. Sadly, there are still many car accidents caused as the result of a drunk driver. One family in Tennessee was recently involved in one such crash.

The incident occurred about a week ago and involved two vehicles; one with a father and son and another with the alleged drunk driver and her passenger. The woman who has been charged reportedly hit the other vehicle and afterward, both drivers got out of their cars. It was at this point that the two sides of the story differ, however, it is stated that the woman left the scene and went to another location, where officials found her.

Police have reported that the woman was having trouble balancing when they found her and had a recollection of having run into a wall. Her sobriety test reportedly confirmed her inebriated state. The father and driver of the car she hit explained that she hit him as well with her car after getting back into her vehicle instead of staying at the accident. While the incident continues to be investigated, it has been reported that the woman in this case was charged with DUI as well as assaulting someone with a deadly weapon.

While this case continues to move forward, other Tennessee residents who have been in similar ones may wish to bring their to a legal professional if they have dealt with the aftermath of someone else’s drunk driving. Someone who has been injured or who has lost a loved one to an accident at the hands of a drunk driver could bring forward a personal injury or wrongful death case in an effort to help cover the new financial stress that comes with such accidents.

Source: newschannel5.com, “Woman charged with DUI, assault after hit-and-run,” Nov. 19, 2012

Car accidents that occur after people have been drinking are never something to take lightly, but it becomes much more tragic when there are children involved. One Nashville man was recently involved in a crash while allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol. He was reportedly on Andrew Jackson Parkway when the crash occurred and his 10-year-old niece was in the vehicle with him.

The driver in this case is now facing charges from this crash and has reportedly admitted that he had been drinking alcohol and also had taken pain medication prior to driving. His niece suffered head trauma and was quickly taken to the hospital by the emergency medical team on site. It is expected that his niece will recover from her injuries, but it is unknown at this time what this man’s fate will be. The state of the other car’s driver is not reported on, but it is said that the man facing charges hit this other car while it was turning.

Due to the child’s head injury, her uncle may find himself involved in a personal injury case, depending how this girl’s parents feel. Along with her trauma, if the other driver has sustained any injuries or had passengers in their car who did, his charges might grow to several civil personal injury charges.

Understanding the laws surrounding driving under the influence in Tennessee and your area can help you to know when not to get behind the wheel. If you know someone who has been affected by drunk driving or in an accident due to a driver under the influence, contacting an experienced lawyer could help get some compensation for any injuries or trauma from the accident.

Source: newschannel5.com, “Man faces charges for drunk driving with child passenger,” Oct. 6, 2012

Authorities in Washington County were left with few courses of action after a 53-year-old Jonesborough, Tennessee, man died on Aug. 26.

The man had been facing charges of reckless endangerment and vehicular homicide over his involvement in a July 2010 crash that left a 56-year-old woman dead and three other people injured. But of course, his death meant there was no one to charge, so the allegations have been dropped.

As we pointed out, there seems to be little that authorities can do when presented with facts such as these. However, it is disappointing that this case did not make it to its own conclusion; it seems this was a drunk driving accident, and it’s very important to everyone involved that such incidents come to a just and fair resolution.

The man’s attorney was the one who informed the court of his client’s death. He did not say what had caused the man’s demise, other than that it was “unexpected.”

The accident occurred when the man was driving his pickup truck down Fordtown Road when he swerved into the opposite lane and struck a Dodge Caravan. The collision left the woman dead. Her 53-year-old husband, 27-year-old son and an 18-month-old girl were badly hurt. The man was also critically injured in the collision.

Subsequent testing of blood samples taken at the scene by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation revealed the man’s blood-alcohol content to be .25. The legal limit in Tennessee is 0.08, as it is in all states.

Source: Johnson City Press, “Charges dropped due to death of defendant,” Becky Campbell, Sept. 5, 2012

Drive-through fast food restaurants are a fixture in this country. Drive-through coffee shops are also becoming more common. But how about buying a 30-pack of beer without leaving your car? Tennessee is one state that allows drive-through convenience and liquor stores, and some people believe they only enable people to drive drunk.

Do such establishments contribute to drunk driving accidents? It’s not easy to find direct evidence, but some studies seem to point to “yes.” A study from another state back in 1998, for example, took a look at people arrested for drunk driving and found that many of them preferred to purchase liquor at the drive-up stores.

While many states besides Tennessee have such stores, others have banned them outright. Efforts to open drive-through establishments often are met with criticism in the states that technically allow them.

Some argue that people who want to buy liquor are going to do so wherever they can purchase it, whether it is a drive-through store or not. But others would counter that the practice makes it easier for people to drink in their vehicles.

One man, who was convicted of drunk driving after a crash killed his passenger and severely injured another, apparently visited a drive through store on the day of the crash. He bought a 30 pack of beer, never left his vehicle, and then returned to the store for more. Incidents like that have prompted those seeking a ban on such stores to ask, “What more evidence do we need?”

Source: LoHud.com, “Concern over drive-up alcohol sales spurs efforts at ban,” Alison Bath, July 10, 2012

People take a risk if they drive under the influence. They put not only their own safety in jeopardy, but that of their own passengers and other motorists who happen to get in the way.

After a crash that recently injured several people, including children, a Knoxville woman will be facing charges of driving under the influence, vehicular assault, child restraint an improper passing, according to media reports. The car accident happened on State Highway 33 in Maynardville in Union County recently.

The woman was headed south on the highway in her 2002 Ford Explorer. Her three children, including 5-year-old twins, were in the car, and while they were wearing seatbelts they apparently were not in appropriate car seats.

The woman apparently attempted to pass another vehicle and crossed into the northbound lane. But she lost control of her vehicle, veered onto the shoulder and then into oncoming traffic. She collided head-on with a Lincoln Navigator driven by a 52-year-old man.

The SUV rolled over, injuring the woman and her children. All of the children were taken a hospital. One of them had been trapped in the vehicle and had to be extricated. The other driver wasn’t hurt, but his 51-year-old passenger reportedly sustained injuries.

The accident shut down the highway for a time.

In addition to the DUI and related charges, the 25-year-old woman is facing charges of driving with a suspended license and driving without insurance.

Source: Knoxville News Sentinel, “Driver in Maynardville crash facing DUI charge,” Jennifer Brake, July 5, 2012

It took over two years, but a driver is now behind bars for a drunk driving accident that claimed the life of her husband. She’s now facing serious charges, including vehicular homicide and DUI.

The woman and her husband had both apparently been drinking the night of the fatal crash on May 16, 2010. She was driving their Mitsubishi Eclipse on Ashville Highway in Sevier County when she apparently lost control of the vehicle in the eastbound lane, overcorrected and crossed the highway, according to authorities.

The vehicle apparently veered off the road and crashed into a tree. The woman’s 39-year-old husband was killed in the crash, which happened just after 2:15 a.m. He had not been wearing a seat belt. A report from the Tennessee Highway Patrol says that it was eventually determined that the 35-year-old woman was drunk at the time of the crash.

She was arrested last week on a sealed presentment, which was signed by a grand jury in November 2010, and was kept private until she was arrested. Authorities say that she is charged with vehicular homicide by intoxication, vehicular homicide and DUI. She is reportedly being held at the Sevier County Jail on $200,000 bond. She is set to be arraigned in late August.

The woman, who sustained injuries in the accident as well, had apparently been on the run since being indicted by the grand jury in November 2010.

Source: Knoxville News Sentinel, “Woman whose husband died in 2010 Sevier County crash charged with vehicular homicide,” Natalie Neysa Alund, June 29, 2012

A couple of weeks ago, we told you about a horrific hit-and-run accident that left two people dead. Police arrested the driver shortly thereafter, and now a grand jury has indicted him on six counts for his role in the fatal car accident.

The crash happened when two women ran out of gas outside a Knoxville residence. A man who lived there came out to help them and gave them gas. Before the women could leave, a car came speeding down the street and hit one of the women and the man. They both died, as did the woman’s unborn fetus.

As it turns out, the Tennessee man who was behind the wheel had a previous DUI conviction, and had also been arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia. For the recent incident, a Knox County grand jury recently returned a six-count indictment against him. He is seeing three counts of vehicular homicide, as well as one count of DUI, one count of reckless endangerment and one count of tampering with evidence.

The 22-year-old man recently graduated from the University of Tennessee. He turned himself in last week and was being held on $300,000 bond. His attorney says that he hopes he will be released, either by posting bond or having it reduced. He’s planning to plead not guilty to the charges.

A police affidavit, however, indicates the man admitted to his roommate that he hit the victims after a night of drinking. Someone he knew later called the police.

Source: WBIR, “Recent UT grad charged in triple-fatal hit-and-run; has previous DUI conviction,” June 7, 2012

When people are convicted of drunk driving, many are often forced to use ignition interlock systems. That means that when they get into their car to drive, they must take a breath test by blowing into a pipe. If their blood-alcohol level is over the legal limit of .08, their vehicles won’t start. It’s considered a way to keep them in check and potentially prevent further drunk driving accidents.

It’s possible that similar devices could make their way into all vehicles at some point in the future, not just the vehicles of convicted drunk drivers. According to the LA Times, the federal government is feeding money into research about alcohol-sensing technology in vehicles. There’s already $10 million devoted to the cause over the next several years, and a new federal transportation bill could add an additional $24 million.

There are a couple ways it could work. Besides breathing into a tube, technology being researched may be able to sense alcohol by “sniffing” a driver’s breath. Another version could detect alcohol in a person’s blood through laser technology.

The idea may run into some obstacles. For one thing, the restaurant industry is not happy about it. It’s possible that the devices would detect alcohol below the legal limit and prevent people from driving if they are not legally drunk. People would be less likely to order a glass or two of wine with dinner if they know they won’t be able to drive home.

There’s also the likelihood that the technology would fail some of the time. Even if the systems worked 99.99966 percent of the time, according to the Times, an average of 4,000 Americans a day would not be able to start their cars because the technology failed.

Others would argue that it’s a small price to pay if the technology can save lives by preventing drunk drivers from being on the roads.

Source: LA Times, “Should future cars curb drunk drivers?” Dan Turner, March 28, 2012

Imagine sitting in your own living room, lounging on a love seat and watching TV — and then a pickup truck crashes into the room, pinning you under debris. That’s what happened to a LaFollette woman last year, causing her to suffer injuries. She and her husband are claiming the detective who caused the crash, along with his fellow officers, tried to cover what happened in the car accident. Now they’re suing the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, the detective attempted to flee the scene, but the woman’s husband held him at gunpoint while he talked to authorities on the phone. The trooper then apparently called a chief deputy to help him out.

Even though couple’s call was initially reported by a dispatcher, troopers were apparently told to ignore it, and the detective was able to leave the scene. His truck was towed away.

In their lawsuit, the couple claims that the detective was not even asked to take field sobriety tests. No blood sample was taken before he could be interviewed by the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Authorities later acknowledged that alcohol likely played a role in the accident. The detective was ultimately fired, as was a chief deputy, and the couple claims the sheriff apologized to them for a “cover-up.”

The couple is suing the sheriff’s office, the detective, the sheriff and the chief deputy. They are reportedly seeking punitive damages and are asking for a jury trial.

Source: Knoxville News Sentinel, “Couple sues Campbell County Sheriff’s Office for living room crash,” Natalie Neysa Alund, March 23, 2012