Car crashes of any variety are troubling enough. When they involve an intoxicated driver, they can be much more likely to result in severe injury or fatality. A recent collision here in Indiana highlighted precisely why a drunk driving accident can be so dangerous.
The crash occurred on a recent evening after, authorities say, a Cadillac SUV veered into the oncoming lane and hit another vehicle head-on. The first car caught on fire and witnesses helped remove the driver prior to the arrival of emergency personnel. Two people in the second vehicle died at the scene of the crash and a third had to be rushed to a local hospital.
Authorities say that they believe that the SUV driver was intoxicated at the time of the crash, though they have not said precisely why they believe that to be so. They are awaiting results of blood tests that are routinely conducted with any fatality crash. The driver faces preliminary criminal charges, and has been accused of one offense of operating a vehicle while intoxicated that caused a serious injury and two offenses of operating a vehicle while intoxicated that caused a death.
No family should have to endure the pain of losing a loved one to a car crash, though it can be even more painful to lose someone to a drunk driving accident. The families of the victims here in Indiana have the right to pursue civil litigation against a driver, if negligence or recklessness is proven. If such litigation is successful, it could mean that the driver would have to pay monetary damages to the families that may help them in covering any expenses related to the crash.
Source: wthr.com, “Noblesville woman arrested in crash that killed two“, , Aug. 9, 2014