The news media alone provides plenty of examples of drunk driving accidents and the devastation they cause. Even so, some people continue to get behind the wheel of a car after drinking. One drunk driver in Virginia was recently sentenced in connection with the death of another driver last year.
It was a day in early June of last year when that man was seen on video at several convenience stores purchasing alcohol. At some point during the day, the 41-year-old driver’s vehicle drifted into oncoming traffic and struck two vehicles. When police arrived, they discovered numerous empty beer cans and two open cans in his vehicle. Even more shocking was that the man’s 5-year-old son was in the truck.
Fortunately, the boy escaped injury. However, a man in one of the vehicles the driver struck died and his wife suffered injuries. It was determined that the impaired driver had a blood alcohol level of .19. In Oct. 2013, he pleaded guilty to aggravated involuntary manslaughter, DUI (BAC .15-.20) with a child in the vehicle. Recently, a Virginia judge sentenced him to prison for just under 10 years.
The accident happened just days after the deceased victim and his wife celebrated 64 years of marriage. His wife will never again see the man she spent the better part of her life with because of this drunk driver. She retains the right to file a wrongful death claim against him attempting to receive an award of damages. If she prevails in court, she could receive financial restitution to ease the monetary expenses incurred as a result of her husband’s death.
Source: wavy.com, “Man sentenced to almost 10 years for fatal DUI crash”, Catherine Rogers, June 23, 2014