Articles Posted in Drunk Driving in Massachusetts

Riding, as a passenger in a car with a drunk driver behind the wheel is very dangerous, yet people do it all the time. According to a recent news article from the Boston Herald, a man from Walpole was involved in a fatal rollover car crash in Hyde Park in which his female passenger was killed.

Authorities are reporting driver was operating a 2003 Honda Accord at 2:30 a.m. when he lost control of his vehicle. His car rolled over and came to stop just before a major intersection. The female passenger was pronounced dead at the scene, while driver was taken to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston to be treated for injuries before being taken to court for arraignment.

Prosecutors have indicated they intend to charge driver with operating under the influence (OUI), leaving the scene of personal injury (hit-and-run) and homicide while drunk driving. He was also cited with speeding and other traffic offenses.
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Hit-and-run drunk driving accidents that result in serious injury or death cause victims and family members enormous grief. Not only must aggrieved parties cope with the pain and loss caused by the crash, but then there is the added frustration of elusive justice.

According to a recent news report from WCVB 5 Boston, a pedestrian was struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver in Brockton. The at-fault driver reportedly fled the scene.

Authorities report the fatal accident occurred late at night.

EMS workers rushed the victim to the hospital where she was immediately taken into a surgical intensive care unit and then placed in critical care. Sadly, she soon died from her injuries related to the suspected alcohol-related hit-and-run car accident.

In cases like these, it should be weighed whether at-fault driver’s failure to stop and render aid (i.e., call 911) delayed emergency response to a degree it might have cost victim his or her life.
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Drunk driving laws have gotten tougher over the years, but some say they aren’t yet as tough as they need to be. According to a recent news feature from ABC40, two families are fighting for lawmakers in Boston to increase the penalties again.

Last year, a young couple was driving home from a wedding. The male half was allegedly three times over the legal limit of .08 percent blood-alcohol content when he crashed into a tree, killing his passenger. In another case, two years earlier, another young man was killed by a drunk driver.

Families for both victims are pressing legislators to do more to prevent such tragedies, and to hold accountable the perpetrators. Defendants in both cases are serving three-to-five-year prison sentences. Both families say that they were told by prosecutors the defendants would likely only serve a full year or two of their sentences, at most.
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Zombies may be on their second life, but at least one in New York is unlikely to get a another break from the judge.

According to recent article from ABC Eyewitness News, police in New York arrested the same woman, dressed as a zombie, twice in the same night for the same offense – drunk driving.

Authorities reported the 26-year-old driver was pulled over by police for driving without headlights on her way home from a local Halloween party. During this arrest, she is alleged to have tested at 0.11 percent blood-alcohol content (BAC) on a breath test machine.

After being processed and then released from the police station, a friend picked her up to take her home. About three hours later, she was pulled over a second time. This time she allegedly blew a .09 percent BAC, which is still over the legal limit of .08 grams of ethanol per 100 milliliters of blood.
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When we send our kids on the school bus, we expect the driver to operate the vehicle in a safe and responsible manner. That may not always be the case. According to a recent news article from the Boston Globe, a school bus driver was arrested for allegedly operating a bus under the influence. At the time, the vehicle was carrying a high school track team home from a cross-country meet on Cape Cod.

Authorities report a a coach on the bus became concerned when the vehicle was randomly speeding up and slowing down and weaving off the road and hitting the rumble strips. The driver allegedly ran red lights and took the wrong exit off the highway. The coach used his cellphone to call police.

After police pulled over the bus, the driver failed sobriety tests and refused to take a breathalyzer. The police arrested driver on charges of operating under the influence (OUI), negligent operation of a motor vehicle, child endangerment, and OUI Third Offense.
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According to a recent news article from the San Francisco Gate, a man turned in his own mother to police, connected with her alleged involvement in a drunk driving hit-and-run car crash. Police are reporting that the accident occurred around five in the afternoon.

Defendant is alleged to have sideswiped a man driving a 1939 Ford Cabriolet causing the vehicle to spin out of control. A witness called the local police and said he had been following the suspect’s vehicle and that that the driver was his mother.

Approximately an hour after the alcohol-related car crash, authorities arrived at defendant’s home and saw a car matching the suspect’s car that had sustained damage. Defendant admitted to hitting the other driver but said that she left the scene because she thought the other car kept driving as well.
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Across the United States, state and local governments seem to moving toward the decriminalization or legalization of marijuana. One concern of the police and others against legalization is that there would be a corresponding increase in the number of people driving under the influence of marijuana.

According to a recent article in the Worchester Telegram, the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association and its membership share these concerns. One major issue is that, unlike drunk driving, driving under the influence of marijuana is much more difficult to prove.

Field sobriety tests are designed to detect drunk driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) developed the three standardized tests now approved for use in DWI and DUI detection, but these tests are not effective for drivers suspected of being on drugs.
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There are some people who regularly drink alcohol to the point of intoxication and then get behind the wheel of a car. While it may seem like a normal thing for some, driving a 2,000-pound vehicle while drunk is actually one of the most dangerous things imaginable.

Not only is the drunk driver taking a risk of hurting himself or herself, it is risk taken on behalf of others without their knowledge or consent. Each year, across the nation and in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, lives are ruined and lost due to drunk driving car crashes.

According to recent news story from the Boston Globe, police were called to the scene of accident caused by a drunk driver. Authorities are reporting that the suspected drunk driver was driving his motor vehicle in the wrong direction of the highway when he crashed into another car.
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According to a recent news article from NBC Sports, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell consulted with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) representatives before issuing a 10 game suspension to defensive tackle Josh Brent.

Brent’s suspension was related a 2012 drunk driving car crash that resulted in the death of his Cowboys teammate, Jerry Brown. The suspension means that Brent cannot participate in any team activities or even begin practicing until week nine of the regular season. If he is involved in any other prohibited alcohol-related incidents, including drunk driving, he will not be allowed to return to the NFL.

Goodell said that the length of the suspension was chosen after speaking with experts, including those from MADD. It was important for Brent to understand just how serious his actions were and that any future drunk driving will not be tolerated. Though Brent has decided to appeal the suspension, Goodell said Brent understands the reasoning behind the decision.

This NFL sanction is in addition to the criminal penalties imposed on Brent after he pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the drunk driving related death of his teammate, which included 180 days in jail and ten years of probation.

As our attorneys in Boston who regularly represent victims of drunk driving accidents understand that people often fail to consider the true impact their decision to drink before getting behind the wheel can have on families. Most of the public interest campaigns focus on the fact that you can go to jail for drunk driving, but to the victims of alcohol-related accidents, the effects can be devastating.
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