A former Atlanta lawyer, who was involved in a deadly drunk driving accident that killed one person, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. Car accidents of this nature often end tragically with a severe personal injury or wrongful death. Of course, this particular accident was clearly preventable and should never have occurred.
The accident occurred on October 1, 2006 when the man ran a red light and crashed into a taxicab. The crash killed a thirty-one-year-old woman and left two men severely injured.The victim left behind a three-year-old daughter and a seven-year-old son.
The lawyer pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and serious injury by vehicle while driving under the influence.It later emerged that he had four prior DUI offenses on his record.In fact, on the day of the accident, he was on probation from a previous DUI, and had been ordered not to drive.
In the year 2009, there were 1,284 traffic accident fatalities in the state of Georgia.Out of these, 394 deaths occurred in drunk driving accidents.That is approximately 31% of traffic accident fatalities traced to drivers under the influence of alcohol.Out of these, 331 deaths involved accidents in which the driver was driving with an alcohol level of or greater than .08%, which is the legal limit for alcohol intoxication.
It’s safe to say that drunk driving is the one of the biggest factors involved in fatal accidents in the state of Georgia.Nationwide, drunk driving is the second biggest factor in traffic accidents, after speeding.In fact drunk driving is a much bigger factor than distracted driving.Across the country, drunk driving contributes to approximately 30% of traffic accident fatalities.
It’s no secret that drunk driving accident deaths have been down over the past decade.We have law enforcement to thank for that.Increased enforcement, more effective use of sobriety checkpoints and initiatives by local and state agencies supported by the federal administration, have meant a decline in wrongful deaths occurring from intoxicated driving.Additionally, there has been an attitude change as far as drunk driving is concerned.There is now lowered acceptance of driving under the influence of alcohol.
However, every year, far too many people die in accidents that are caused because motorists could not resist driving after a few drinks.Driving in an intoxicated state can leave a person with severely inhibited response times.A person driving under the influence of alcohol is less likely to be able to respond quickly to important visual cues, like a pedestrian appearing in a crosswalk in front.
Additionally, alcohol clouds a person’s judgment, and leaves an individual incapable of judging important accident risks, like the speed and behavior of other motorists.Alcohol has another even more deadly impact on a person’s driving skills.It can increase a person’s feelings of recklessness, and lowered inhibitions.A person may be more likely to engage in reckless driving practices like speeding, tailgating and may be more susceptible to road rage.
The Atlanta car accident lawyers are at the Katz Kaw Firm represent persons injured in automobile and car accidents in the metro Atlanta region and across Georgia.