A Virginian is facing charges after a drunk driving crash that killed two Lancaster County, Pennsylvania men. The 30 year old man was charged in Pennsylvania with two counts of vehicular homicide while DUI and other charges related to a Sept. 10, 2017 crash on Route 222 in that state.
A police reconstruction of the fatal crash scene determined that the man’s van veered from the right lane northbound across the fog line before hitting two pedestrians who were 44 and 46 years old.
One of the men was a tow truck driver and the other was a driver getting towed at the time of the wreck. Both were killed at the scene.
A breath test shortly after the crash showed the man’s BAC was .088 which is over the legal limit. He also did not have a license to drive.
Before the crash, the man was seen by witnesses driving erratically and was swerving across lanes.
Our View
Before anyone ever thinks of driving after drinking alcohol, they should remember that alcohol reduces the abilities of the brain. It impairs thinking, muscle coordination and reasoning. All three of these abilities are necessary to drive a vehicle safely.
As alcohol builds up in the system, the negative effects on the nervous system worsen. Alcohol is absorbed quickly by the small intestine and stomach. Then it passes into the bloodstream where it starts to accumulate in the liver until it is metabolized.
When BAC reaches .08 – the legal limit for most of the US – the risk of an accident rises dramatically. However, even if you are under the limit, the chances for a crash are higher with any alcohol in your system. Note that you can be criminally charged in a DUI offense even if you are under the limit, if the police officer believes you are intoxicated.
Our Virginia drunk driving attorneys sue drunk drivers in civil court for damages they cause to innocent victims in drunk driving crashes. A recent case in Virginia settled for $100,000 after our client was hit by a drunk driver who ran onto a sidewalk and hit him outside his gym. This man suffered serious leg injuries that required four surgeries.
The woman driver only had limited liability insurance and our attorney tapped the client’s underinsured motorist coverage so that he could get the recovery he needed and deserved. The man had to go through months of recovery that involved a lot of pain and suffering. Although we could have sued for punitive damages, it would not have led to a higher settlement in this case.
Comments for this article are closed.