Articles Posted in Drunk Driving in Massachusetts

Drunk driving accidents involving victims who were riding in a taxi cab are more common than one might initially think. According to a recent news article from the Arlington Patch, a 26-year-old suspected drunk driver was arrested for allegedly rear-ending a taxi cab early one Saturday morning.

Witnesses say defendant was driving her car in an erratic manner when the car accident occurred. At the time of the accident, a police officer was driving behind defendant and immediately responded to the accident. Officers say driver appeared to be intoxicated and was asked to take several Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFTSs) after exiting the vehicle. After allegedly failing all three tests, police placed defendant under arrest for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs (OUI), negligent operation of a motor vehicle, a marked lanes violation, and following too closely (tailgating).
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Mothers against Drunk Driving (MADD) is a non-profit organization that has been essential in raising the national drinking age to 21-years-of-age and increasing penalties for drunk driving. According to a recent news feature from CBS, MADD, along with the help of several South Florida families who are all victims of drunk driving accidents, is working to raise awareness of drunk driving and drugged driving this holiday season.

One victim interviewed in the article discusses how a drunk driver hit them and literally drove through their car. She described the drunk driving accident, which is something she will never forget, by saying the drunk driver was traveling in excess of 100 mph in a bus-only lane when the crash occurred. Her 13-year-old sister was killed in this fatal drunk driving crash. Victim’s mother is pleading with anyone who will listen to designate a driver who will agree to remain sober to prevent an accident like this one from occurring again.

Another family member is urging people not have a few drinks and then get behind the wheel. As she says, even if you are within the legal limit of .08 grams per hundred milliliters of blood, it does not mean it is safe for you drive. To demonstrate this, police set up a demonstration to show how difficult it is for people to function even when they are at or below the legal limit.
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There is no doubt drunk driving accidents can lead to serious personal injury and death. One recent news article from My Fox Boston looks at a close call that resulted in the destruction of a home and what appear to be minor injuries. Authorities are reporting a woman was arrested for operating under the influence (OUI) after crashing her car into a house where a 72-year-old man was sleeping.

When Worchester, Massachusetts police officers got the house, it was just after 2 a.m. Defendant’s car had crashed through an exterior wall, drove completely inside the house, and came to a stop with the front wheels suspended inches over the homeowner’s bed that was in his basement bedroom.

The occupant, who had a bandage wrapped around his head due his injuries, said he was asleep when he heard the car crash through his apartment. He was able to get out of the way and saw people in the car trying to get out. He tried to help them exit the crashed vehicle.
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According to a recent news article from WMUR 9, a defendant was sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing a newlywed bride in a 2013 drunk driving car accident in New England in 2013. The couple was just married in their home state of Minnesota and were driving through New England during their honeymoon.

Court records indicate defendant, who had a blood alcohol level of two times the legal limit and had taken prescription drugs, crossed the center line and hit the victim’s car head on. The female victim was killed during the crash. Her husband suffered multiple skull fractures and other serious injuries but survived the horrific accident.

During the sentencing hearing, family members of the decedent had the opportunity to make what are known as victim impact statements, where they asked defendant how he can live with the knowledge that he had took someone’s life. Defendant also spoke at his sentencing hearing and said he can’t defend his actions and no longer knows who the person was that was driving the car that night. He said the accident happened, and he takes responsibility for it.
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There are few things worse than the death of a child. According to a recent news article from ABC 40, a community is in mourning after death of a seven year-old girl who was killed in an alcohol-related car accident in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Authorities are saying defendant, a 48-year-old woman, was charged with Motor Vehicle Homicide following the fatal accident. The young victim was crossing the street after leaving the library. She was with her mother and another relative when all three victims were hit by defendant’s car.

Police estimate defendant was traveling at 42 mph and failed several standardized field sobriety tests. The three victims were taken to a local hospital where the young girl was pronounced dead the following day. The other two victims are still recovering from the accident, and their condition is not considered life-threatening at this time.
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Brian Austin Green and his wife Megan Fox were recently hit by a drunk driver. After the collision, Green, who is best known from his starring role on Beverly Hills 90210, spoke to People Magazine about the accident.

Green said that, while he is not a doctor and doesn’t know if they are okay, they both were able to walk away from the alcohol-related accident. Green and Fox were driving when they were hit by another driver who was arrested for driving under the influence. Green’s airbag deployed during the accident.

Green further said the incident was life-changing, and he relieved the entire accident over and over again in his head, trying to think if he could have done something differently that would have prevented the accident.
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A Somerset, Massachusetts man was arrested after allegedly hitting a pedestrian with his car while under the influence of alcohol. According to a recent report from WPRI Eyewitness News, defendant was driving when he swerved across the center lane and then lost control. Witness say the vehicle then swerved to the right, ran off the road into a ditch, and went airborne.

Victim was walking along the roadway, because he had just been involved in an unrelated car accident. Defendant allegedly told police that he never saw victim until he ran out in front of his vehicle. Other witnesses say victim walked out into the highway to cross the lanes of traffic before being hit by defendant’s car.

Prosecutors have said defendant admitted to drinking three beers. He is said to have passed two field sobriety tests but failed a third. It will be quite some time before results of a blood test are available to determine defendant’s blood alcohol content at the time of the crash. Victim was pronounced dead at the scene of the tragic Massachusetts car accident. Authorities are still investigating the cause of the accident, and defendant is scheduled to be arraigned for drunk driving and possibly other charges.
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The period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s DAy is an especially dangerous time on roads because there is a big increase in the number of people who drive drunk.

Alcohol is responsible for around 52 percent of deadly crashes on Christmas, and 57 percent of fatal accidents on New Year’s Day, compared to 41 percent over the course of the entire year. Further, as The Telegram reports, there will be around 25,000 injuries and 1,200 alcohol-related fatalities in the U.S. over the course of the holiday season.

A Boston drunk driving accident lawyer knows police usually step up enforcement during the holidays and especially around high-risk times like New Years Eve in order to try to prevent impaired motorists from causing collisions. Ultimately, however, it is up to individual drivers to make smart and informed choices about not getting behind the wheel when they have consumed too much to drink. To help raise awareness and remind motorists about the dangers of drunk driving, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is urging motorists to “tie one on” for safety.
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In 2012, a 31-year-old was struck and killed by a drunk driver, who drove another two miles with the victim lodged in the windshield before stopping.

The impaired driver was finally forced to stop by other drivers and detained until police came and arrested her.

The two-year anniversary of the victims’ death is approaching, and family members of the victim say that the pain they are feeling has not subsided since that day.

A Boston drunk driving lawyer knows the death of a family member due to an impaired driver is something from which you never fully recovery.

Surviving family members do have the right to pursue legal action against the impaired driver, although nothing can ever bring back their lost loved one. In this case, the drunk driver has been found guilty of killing her victim and the driver is serving 55 years in prison.

Since his conviction, family members have decided to file a lawsuit against the substance abuse rehabilitation center where the driver as receiving treatment at the time of the crash.
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Driving drunk is the cause of around 10,000 accidents every single year in the United States. Some of those who get behind the wheel intoxicated have had a lot to drink. Others, however, have had just one or two glasses of wine, beer or other alcohol. A person may be impaired enough to have his driving affected with a blood-alcohol concentration even below the legal limit of .08 percent, and a Boston drunk driving accident lawyer knows by the time someone reaches that limit, the risk of an accident is just about doubled.

Unfortunately, many people think when they have only had a little bit to drink, they are fine to drive. The truth is, they are not.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reminds motorists even being a little “tipsy” is not safe when getting behind the wheel of a car. In light of the upcoming holiday season, a popular time for drinking with friends and family, the NHTSA has issued an alert warning that “Buzzed driving is drunk driving.”
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