Articles Tagged with Boston drunk driver injury lawyer

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When a person is pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving, the police have likely witnessed some type of suspect driving behavior.  In some cases, the police will arrive at the scene of a drunk driving accident and become aware of the fact that one or more of the drivers may have been driving a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

beerAuthorities have various tools at their disposal to determine if there is probable cause to place a person under arrest for drunk driving.  In Massachusetts, the formal name for a drunk driving charge is operation of a motor vehicle under the influence intoxicating liquor or drugs (OUI).  Probable cause means that there is some probability that defendant is guilty of an offense for which he or she is about to be arrested and charged.  This is basically the lowest standard of proof in criminal or civil court system, but courts will, and often do, dismiss criminal cases following a motions hearing if the prosecutor cannot establish probable cause to have arrested or charged a defendant.  This applies to cases following a Boston drunk driving accident as well. Continue reading

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According to a recent news article from The Boston Globe, there may be a path for some military veterans to avoid a criminal conviction for drunk driving if they complete a specific pretrial diversion process.  Pretrial diversions are nothing new, but one specifically for drunk driver who are also military vets is new and is causing a great deal of controversy, even among some veterans themselves and others who have nothing but the utmost respect for the brave men and women who risked their lives to serve our nation.

army duiThe cases stemmed from a 2012 law that created a specific path to avoid prosecution for military veterans. This law, officially called the Valor Act, gives judges discretion to allow military veterans to go to specially designed rehabilitation programs to help them learn to not drink and drive and better return to civilian life. There is no question that it is very hard for many military veterans, especially those who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, to return to what we would consider a normal prewar life, given the incredible and often unimaginable experiences they had while serving overseas. Continue reading

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According to a recent news article from the Boston Globe, Chelsea police have evidence from a surveillance camera operated by the city that allegedly shows a drunk driver going on what they call a “wild ride” right through downtown. Chelsea is the 1.8 square mile incorporated city located just across the Mystic River from Boston.  While Chelsea does not have a large population, there are many drunk driving incidents, including serious or fatal drunk driving accidents that occur there each year.

drunk driving accidentIn this recent incident, police say the 56-year-old defendant was driving his Chrysler PT through the heart of the city in a manner than had more than two dozen people fleeing for safety as they witnessed the car as it allegedly went down the steps of the city’s Civil War memorial and then drove right onto the lawn in front of Chelsea City Hall. Continue reading

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While it is good that there has been a strong push to enhance drunk driving laws, especially in cases involving serious or even fatal drunk driving accidents, it will not do any good if the new stricter laws are not enforced when the opportunity presents itself.  However, according to a recent news article from the Boston Globe, that is exactly what is occurring.

gavelFor those who are not familiar with Melanie’s law, it was passed more than a decade ago.  The purpose of the 2005 law was to make the penalties for drunk driving offenses much tougher in Massachusetts to prevent serious drunk driving accidents, including fatal ones that occur in Boston and other parts of the state. Continue reading

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As discussed in a recent article from The Economist, while the media is often discussing the very real problems of gun violence in America, far more people are killed in a fatal car accidents, and and an even greater number of victims are inured.

phoneLooking at the numbers, around 40,000 people will die in car crashes across the U.S. each year.  Around 10,000 (roughly 25 percent) of these deaths are caused by drunk driving crashes.  This means that approximately a quarter of all traffic fatalities in the nation would not have occurred if those drivers decided to either not drink to the point of intoxication or decided not to get behind the wheel after becoming intoxicated. Continue reading

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In many ways, every drunk driving crash is senseless, because there is no reason for a person to ever get behind the wheel when intoxicated knowing that this extremely reckless behavior could result in serious personal injury or death.  However, some drunk driving accidents contain facts that are even more egregious than others.

drinksAccording to a recent news article from Fox 25 Boston, a 33-year-old defendant has been sentenced to five years in a Florida state prison in connection with the fatal 2014 drunk driving accident in which his wife was killed. The victim, his wife and mother of his children, was 31-years-old at time of her tragic death. Continue reading

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In the U.S., the legal limit for a driver’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is 0.08 grams of ethanol per hundred milliliters of blood.  Ethanol is the chemical name for the type of alcohol that is found in alcoholic beverages.  There are other kinds of alcohol, such as isopropanol that is used for medical applications, but that can be very harmful if ingested.  That being said, there have been many cases over the years where people drank medical alcohol or even ate hand sanitizer and then drove drunk.

drunk drivingThe reason there is a national legal limit, even though that would normally be reserved to the states to decide, is because, through the efforts of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Congress passed a national drinking age law and tied it to highway funding.  If the states do not comply, that would mean they do not get millions of dollars in federal highway money, so they are not likely to go against the federal limit. Continue reading

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Many people are worried about getting arrested if they get behind the wheel of a car while drunk. However, the real danger in drunk driving is that it can and often does result in serious personal injury or death.  It is hard to fully comprehend how devastating a fatal drunk driving car crash can be to the surviving family members of the victim and others involved in the accident.

beerAccording to a recent news article from CBS Local Boston, authorities have arrested a 41-year-old man from Boston on charges of motor vehicle homicide following a deadly car crash in Attleboro, Massachusetts in which he was alleged to be driving while drunk.  He was also cited for various moving violations, including speeding, failure to use required care when stopping, and a marked lanes violation.  While these moving violations may seem trivial in comparison to allegations of motor vehicle homicide while impaired by alcohol, they are often added to assist troopers in establishing probable cause for the result and later detention at jail following the arrest. Continue reading

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According to a recent story from the Boston Herald, a driver carrying approximately 20 tons of cheese was allegedly driving drunk and crashed his semi tractor-trailer on the Southeast Expressway just outside of Boston. Authorities have said the 43-year-old defendant lost control of his truck full of cheese that was being delivered to the greater Boston area from Wisconsin where it was made. The crash occurred around 1:30 a.m.

cheeseMassachusetts State Police (MSP) troopers were immediately called to the scene, and, when they arrived, they saw that the truck had smashed into a crash attenuator at high rate of speed. A crash attenuator is often placed at the end of one or more concrete Jersey barriers or metal guardrails where they form a dangerous point. Continue reading

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According to a recent news article from The Newburyport Press, a Massachusetts man was arrested on a drunk driving charge following a serious accident involving a semi tractor-trailer. The accident occurred around noon on Interstate 95.

car crashAuthorities say the 26-year-old suspect was driving when he allegedly crashed into the rear of a large tractor-tractor, causing significant damage to his own vehicle.  When he crashed his Toyota Corolla into the truck, witnesses have said he swerved to the left of it and started driving in the median. By this point, one of the wheels had been torn off the sedan, and he was driving away on the three remaining tires, leaving a huge cloud of dust and debris behind. Continue reading

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