Boston Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Blog

When our little vampires are finished combing the neighborhoods for candy, brushing their fangs and getting tucked in bed for the evening, adult goblins will be hitting the streets and heading out for a night of fun and adventure. Adults may be too old to trick-or-treat, but that never means someone is too old to celebrate Halloween. Since many adults enjoy putting on a costume and heading out to Halloween parties and other Halloween events, it’s no surprise that drunk-driving accidents in Boston and elsewhere are such a scare on the 31st of October every year.

According to National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration, there were nearly 70 people killed because of Halloween-related drunk-driving car accidents in Massachusetts and elsewhere because of drunk drivers. All of these fatal accidents occurred from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1. This is a steep increase from the average number of deaths on many other nights.

It has been estimated that nearly 50 percent of all car accidents that happen during this holiday period are alcohol-related. For this reason, Halloween continues to be one of the deadliest nights of the year on our roadways. There’s no costume that can hide an alcohol-impaired driver who gets behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.

“We support enforcement efforts 100 percent in helping protect our children and our roadways this Halloween,” said Laura Dean-Mooney, national president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

To help everyone stay safe on our roadways and to prevent a serious accident during the upcoming Halloween holiday, we ask that residents and visitors follow the safety tips listed below:

Safety tips to help you to avoid a drunk-driving accident:

-If you’re going out and know you’ll be drinking, it is critical for you to make sure you designate a sober driver to get you home safely. This driver needs to pledge to remain completely sober. A designated driver doesn’t mean the person who is the least drunk.

-If you’re planning on throwing a Halloween party, make sure your guests know if you will be serving alcohol so that they can arrange a safe and sober ride home.

-Make sure that no one under the age of 21 is being served alcohol.

-If you’re impaired and don’t have a designated driver, consider calling a cab, calling a family member, using public transportation, staying at a friend’s house or getting a hotel room for the night.

-If you spot a driver who you think may be intoxicated on our roadways, call local law enforcement. Your call can help to save a life.

-If you see someone who is about to drive after drinking, consider taking their keys and helping them to find a safer way home.

-Offer non-alcoholic beverages if you’re hosting a party.

Halloween is a fun and exciting time for both kids and adults. We’re never too old to throw on a costume and celebrate the festivities. Our Boston car accident attorneys ask that you enjoy your Halloween, but to do so safely and responsibly. Happy Halloween!
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Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curtis Leskanic is facing charges of child neglect without harm and of driving under the influence after a recent arrest. The 44-year-old former-baseball player was pulled over with, what police say was, a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .331, which is more than four times the legal limit, according to Mass Live.

His BAC was so high that officials made him check into a hospital before being arrested and booked. Officers found the man allegedly passed out behind the wheel of his pickup truck on the roadway. His 5-year-old daughter was asleep as well in the vehicle and was not properly restrained. According to records, the child has been handed over to a family member.

With the holiday season approaching, we understand that the number of drunk driving incidents will be increasing significantly. With Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s and the rest of the year-end’s celebration, residents will be venturing out to visit friends and family members. Unfortunately, many of these gatherings involve alcohol and many will fail to find a responsible and safe ride home, which is why we see the number of drunk driving accidents in Massachusetts skyrocket during this time of year.

Our Boston drunk driving accident attorneys ask that everyone enjoys the rest of the year and the holiday season, but to do it safely. There’s no reason for anyone to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol. Every little bit impairs a driver’s ability to safely navigate the roadway. When intoxicated people take the wheel, lives are lost in gruesome traffic accidents.

The former pitcher played more than 10 seasons between Boston, Kansas City, Milwaukee and Colorado. He had a 50-34 won-loss record and played his last season with Boston, pitching for the World Series is 2004.

The arrest report stated:

-Officers were notified about a pickup that was swerving all over the roadway. The 7:30 p.m. call specified that there was a young female in the passenger seat.

-When the responding officer combed the area for the reported vehicle, he found it stopped at an intersection even though the traffic light for the truck was green.

-The officer tried to wake up Leskanic two times. The officer reported that the man was hunched over in the driver’s seat like he was sleeping.

-Instead of handing over his driver’s license, Leskanic gave the officer his scout identification card that is used in Major League Baseball.

-The officer conducted a number of roadside sobriety checks. Leskanic failed all of them.

-When the pitcher was arrested, he started yelling at the officer.

-In all DUI cases, specialists take two blood-alcohol tests. The former star took the first one but refused the second.

-During the transport from the hospital to the local jail, the man continued to yell and swear at officers.

As the holiday season approaches and intoxicated drivers start seeping onto our roadways, we ask all responsible motorists to keep an eye out for these irresponsible individuals. Defensive and alert driving habits are important during this time of year.

If you believe you’ve spotted a drunk driver on our roadways, you’re asked to call local authorities with the location, direction the vehicle is moving, make, model and color of the vehicle. Reporting a drunk driver can help to save lives on or roadways. Stay sober, stay safe and stay alert this holiday season.
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According to The Boston Globe, one of the Governor’s right-hand men was arrested under allegations of drunk driving in Massachusetts. The arrest happened just a few hours after the aide was involved in an accident in Boston. The Governor’s senior adviser for community affairs was involved in an accident at the intersection of Tremont and Stuart Streets just hours before the arrest.

Our Massachusetts drunk driving accident attorneys would like to warn all motorists be to extra cautious on our roadways, especially during the upcoming holiday season. Although a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control reported that there has been a near 30 percent decrease in the number of alcohol-related traffic accidents in the U.S. over the last five years, we’re still losing way too many innocent motorists on our roadways because of these irresponsible drivers.

Many experts believe that this decline has to do with the fall of the economy, according to CBS News. As the economy bounces back and the holiday season approaches, we can expect to see an increase in the number of these types of incidents.

“One possibility is that people are drinking at home more and driving less after drinking,” said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to recent CDC telephone survey of roughly 210,000 participants:

-About 1 out of every 50 people who were surveyed said that they had driven while drunk at least once in the last 30 days. That means that about 4 million Americans drove on our roadways while drunk at some point during last year.

-Roughly 60 percent reported that they drove while drunk only once.

-Some participants admitted to driving while drunk on a daily basis.

-The CDC estimates that there were approximately 112 episodes of drunk driver on our roadways in 2010 alone. This means that there were about 300,000 drunks driving along our roadways every day.

-This is the lowest number of episodes on our roadways since 1993, which is down significantly from the peak year of 2006 with an estimated 160 million episodes.

-Men between the ages of 20- and 35-years-old had the highest recording of drunk driving episodes. Even though this demographic only accounts for about 10 percent of the population in the U.S., they were expected to be involved in more than 30 percent of the alcohol-related traffic incidents in 2010.

The most common occurrences of the drunk driving incidents from 2010 involved individuals who had at four or five alcoholic drinks in a short amount of time. Binge drinking was reported to have declined during this time.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were just under 11,000 drunk driving accidents reported in 2009.

Traffic accidents continue to be the number one cause of death for people in the country. A person dies in a traffic-related accident on our roadways every 48 minutes. With the holiday season approaching, motorists are asked to be cautious on our roadways and keep an eye out for alcohol-impaired drivers. This pleasant time of the year unfortunately brings out more impaired drivers and many innocent motorists die as a result.
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Recently, one man died and another was injured after falling from a bus window on the Redhook Ale Brewery bus tour, according to Seacoast Online. Investigations into the Massachusetts bus accident concluded that the bus was traveling at about 60 miles per hour during the time of the accident and that the brewery did not over-serve the two men. According to the Chief of the N.H. Liquor Enforcement, Eddie Edwards, there was nothing the brewery did to cause the accident.

The accident happened as both men were reportedly “roughhousing” on the bus tour as it was traveling down Route 2 in Shirley. The men fell out of the bathroom window as the bus was returning to Massachusetts from New Hampshire. It has been concluded that the man that was killed in the accident died from impact trauma.

According to investigators, the bus’ bathroom window is about 4 feet tall by about 2 ½ feel wide. It’s hinged at the top and can be opened by passengers. Our Boston bus accident attorneys are thankful that the participants in this tour were responsible enough to take a bus instead of driving after drinking the brewery’s products. Unfortunately, the tour bus was unable to protect them from an accident.

The investigation into the accident is ongoing as there are so many factors contributing to the accident. The driver was unaware of the accident when it happened as he continued to drive down Route 2 for a number of miles before pulling off.

Oftentimes residents will go out and enjoy their own sort of brewery tour and will hop from bar to bar – driving to each. Whenever you and your friends head out for a night on the town, make sure that you have a responsible and sober ride home. Drunk driving accidents are some of the most preventable accidents on our roadways. Get a sober driver, take a taxi, find a friend’s house to sleep at or get a hotel room if you plan on going out and drinking.

We’d also like to touch on the fact that buses, taxi and other forms of public transportation have a responsibility to keep riders safe. A number of federal regulations have to be met by each vehicle.

Over the last 2 years, the Obama administration has been working overtime to ensure the safety of passenger buses on our roadways. There have been the same number of buses issued out-of-service orders over the last two years as there have been over the previous 10 years, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

“I’m proud of FMCSA’s efforts to crack down and take action on unsafe interstate bus and trucking companies,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro.

These busing companies are required to provide buses that pass a number of safety inspections and the driver must meet a plethora of requirements. Drivers must minimize their driving hours to reduce the risks of fatigued driving-related accidents. Drivers must also pass drug and alcohol tests whenever deemed necessary. If a company is caught violating these rules, it can have a fine of $2,000 a day or $25,000 for each separate violation. This increased enforcement effort is to help reduce the number of fatal bus accidents that we’ve recent experienced across the country.
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A fatal drunk-driving car accident in Stoughton refuels at least one lawmaker’s call for stricter drunk-driving enforcement and harsher penalties for those who are considered habitual offenders.

The recent accident involved a Bridgewater hairdresser who was allegedly driving drunk, an Easton woman who died from injuries sustained in the crash, and two additional motorists who were also injured, according to the Boston Herald.

The 48-year-old drunk driver was charged in Stoughton District Court with motor-vehicle homicide, leaving the scene, and driving while drunk and on drugs. She is being held on a $100,000 bond.

Our Boston drunk-driving accident attorneys understand how dangerous these drivers can be and how common habitual offenders are. We also know that legislators are working diligently to create and enact harsher penalties for these individuals.

This Stoughton accident happened when the impaired woman’s SUV slammed into another vehicle around 11 p.m. on Route 24. A 57-year-old motorist was pronounced dead at the scene and the two other motorists involved were hospitalized.

According to the woman’s records, she has also been involved in seven other accidents, three of which occurred during the past five years. She has also received four speeding fines since the early 1980s.

“We have to have some system in place that recognizes the cumulative nature of these offenses — and today we don’t,” said Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester).

Last month, Tarr filed a bill that aimed to toughen up the penalties for bad drivers on our state’s roadways. He says that every day we see more and more tragic accidents on our roadways by drivers who have not received strict enough punishments for previous offenses, and it’s time we address it.

Officers report that the impaired hairdresser told them that she was heading home from work. Later she admitted to having only three beers. Even after that, officers found nearly 20 marijuana cigarettes and a bottle of pills in her vehicle.

Current penalties are as follows for repeat offenders:

-Second Offense:
-Jail for a minimum of 60 days, but no more than 2 and a half years.
-A fine of $600 to $10,000.
-License suspension for two years — hardship license will be considered after one year.
-Ignition interlock device installed at your own expense for two years.

-Third Offense:
-Jail for a minimum of 180 days, but no more than five years.
-A fine anywhere from $1,000 to $15,000.
-A suspended license for eight years, hardship considered after two years.
-The commonwealth may keep, sell or seize your vehicle.

Massachusetts officials don’t think these penalties are strict enough because the number of repeat offenders is still too high. Until there is a system in place to keep drunk drivers off our roadways, innocent people will continue to be involved in accidents caused by careless and irresponsible drivers.
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A recent drunk driver in Boxborough accounted for a 48-year-old man’s sixth drunk driving charge, according to the Boston Globe. Boxborough police said the man was spotted by officers for having an expired inspection sticker on his pickup truck near Massachusetts Avenue just before 11 a.m. in late September.

When officers pulled the drunk driver over, they spotted an open beer bottle on the front-passenger seat of his vehicle. They also reported to have detected a strong odor of alcohol coming from the man and his vehicle. Officers administered several field sobriety tests, which the man failed. His blood alcohol concentration (BAC) reading clocked in at 0.09 percent, according to a news story on Boston.com.

Our Boston drunk-driving accident attorneys understand that any driver with a BAC of 0.08 or above is considered legally drunk in Massachusetts and nationwide. This is the legal limit because a number of studies have concluded that a driver is unable to drive safely under this level of intoxication. Drunk drivers pose serious threats to motorists on our roadways. When these individuals cause accidents, innocent individuals are injured or die. These accidents are completely preventable.

The drunk driver was charged with his sixth drunk driving offense. He was in the U.S> illegally, according to reports, and has since been deported, for the second time, to his home country of Mexico. He will no longer be endangering innocent motorists on our roadways.

Drunk-driving penalties in Massachusetts:

-First Offense:
-A fine from $500 to $5,000.
-Up to 2-and-a-half years in jail.
-A license suspension for a year.

-Second Offense:
-A fine from $600 to $10,000.
-Jail time from 30 days to 2-and-a-half years.
-A license suspension for two years.

In the state of Massachusetts, a driver is considered to be legally drunk if he or she returns a test with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or higher. Drivers who are under the age of 21 who are busted with a BAC reading of 0.02 or higher will face a number of administrative penalties in addition to the standard charges of a BAC reading of .08 or higher. Massachusetts practices a zero-tolerance policy with these young drivers and impaired driving.

You are given the opportunity to refuse to take a blood-alcohol test or a chemical breath test in the event of a traffic stop. If you do however, the officer you’re dealing with is authorized to take away your license on the spot.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were nearly 11,000 people killed on U.S. roadways in 2009 because of drivers who were under the influence of alcohol. These accidents were so frequent that they accounted for nearly a third of all fatal traffic accidents across the nation during that year. Massachusetts witnessed nearly 200 traffic fatalities caused by an impaired driver in 2009.
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A veteran boater recently entered a guilty plea after a fatal boating accident. The driver is accused of being intoxicated during a powerboat accident near Hull that killed one of his passengers, according to the Boston Globe. Two passengers were thrown from the vessel during the accident. The boater was reported traveling about 17 knots, or 19 miles per hour, when the vessel slammed into a sailboat.

The 39-year-old boat driver from Winthrop is facing charges of negligent homicide and operating a boat while drunk. He was sent to jail has a bail of $1,500 from the Hingham District Court.

Our Boston boating accident attorneys understand that drivers of all sorts, including car drivers, boaters, motorcyclists, bicyclists and all-terrain vehicle operators, are expected to drive responsibly and while sober. Jumping in the driver’s seat of any kind of vehicle while intoxicated is an irresponsible move that can potentially lead to serious legal consequences and even death.

There were nine passengers on the 25-foot powerboat that ventured out of the Winthrop Yacht Club on the day of the accident. The woman passenger that died in the accident was a 55-year-old resident of Winthrop. She passed away at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston from brain injuries that were sustained during the collision.

Officers report that the driver’s breath smelled of alcohol, his speech was slurred and his eyes were glassy when they responded to the accident. He allowed medical personnel to draw his blood to test for alcohol at the South Shore Hospital. The official results have yet to be received.

The boater is scheduled to appear in court on the 12th of October.

Those who were interviewed about the accident reported that the driver had only had a few alcoholic drinks throughout the day. One witness reported that they had only seen the driver drink soda. When officers investigated the boat, they found an empty box of wine, several wine glasses and a slew of empty beer cans. The boat has been impounded by the Massachusetts Environmental Police.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard:

-There were more than 4,600 boating accidents in 2010.

-More than 670 people were killed in these accidents.

-More than 3,150 people were injured in these accidents.

-Boating accidents resulted in more than $35 million in property damage.

-The fatality rate for boaters was about 5.4 per 100,000 registered recreational vessels.

-About 75 percent of those who were killed in boating accidents drowned. About 88 percent of these victims were reportedly not wearing a life jacket at the time of the accident.

-About 80 percent of those boaters who drowned in 2010 were occupants of a vessel that was no longer than 21 feet.
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According to Massachusetts’ driving records, a 48-year-old female driver was recently charged with both operating under the influence of drugs and motor-vehicle homicide and revealed a shoddy driving record. The woman’s driving history was brought up after a fatal drunk driving car accident in in Stoughton that happened on Route 24. During the recent fatal accident, a 57-year-old was killed and two other motorists were injured. The injured motorists were taken to Boston Medical Center, according to the Stoughton Patch.

The woman, who was allegedly intoxicated, reportedly failed five sobriety tests that evening, according to court documents.

Our Boston drunk driving accident attorneys understand that drunk drivers pose fatal threats to all motorists on our roadways. These irresponsible drivers oftentimes take the lives of innocent motorists. Drunk drivers need to be stopped and need to serve stricter punishments when busted to help avoid these types of accidents.

“I asked the operator what she was doing and she said ‘what?’,” State Police Trooper Brian Berry wrote in his police report. “I asked her why she left the median and she said ‘I didn’t.'”

The woman wasn’t even aware enough to keep her story straight, according to authorities. When questioned by police, she first responded by saying that she was heading home from work in Randolph. When asked a second time, she said she was heading home from the VFW and had consumed about three beers.

Officers conducted a Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test, asked the woman recite the alphabet from ‘C’ to ‘Y’, to complete a nine-step heal-to-toe walk to count backwards from 65 to 50 and to complete the one-legged stand while counting. Officers report that she failed every single test.

Upon searching the woman’s vehicle, officers located nearly 20 marijuana cigarettes.

At the State Police Barracks in Milton, the woman reportedly failed five breathalyzer tests. Her blood alcohol concentration level was reportedly 13 percent above Massachusetts’ legal level of 0.08.

Her driving record isn’t any better. Records from the Department of Motor Vehicle reveal that the woman has been previously involved in seven accidents ranging from 1985 to this year. Once a driver is convicted of a DUI, statistics show that they’re likely to recommit the crime if strict consequences are not executed.

The woman was placed in jail and held on a $100,000 cash bail. She’s due to appear back in court in mid-October.

Currently, Massachusetts state law says that a first-time offender can receive up to 30 months in jail, a fine of up to $5,000, a one-year license suspension and a court-assigned treatment program.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 10,800 people were killed in 2009 because of traffic accidents that involved an intoxicated driver.

During that year, nearly 150 motorists in Massachusetts were killed because of these accidents. These are completely preventable accidents and until we find a better way to regulate, bust and reprimand these drivers, innocent motorists will continue to lose their lives on our roadways.
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According to local police, both alcohol and speed were factors in car accident that took the life of a Milford High graduate and veteran of the war in Afghanistan back in March. The young Manchester man, 24 years old, passed away at a Boston hospital after he drove his vehicle into a tree on North River Road, according to The Cabinet.

Both alcohol and speed are factors in a number of car accidents in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, the two are a double threat as they can be committed separately, but are commonly committed simultaneously. These accidents are preventable and drivers need to be aware of the hazards they pose on our roadways when they commit either of the two.

Our Boston drunk driving accident attorneys understand that there were more than 10,800 people killed on U.S. roadways because of accidents that involved an alcohol-impaired driver in 2009. Massachusetts witnessed nearly 150 of these fatal accidents. Nationwide, alcohol-related car accidents account for more than 30 percent of all of the vehicle accident deaths.

After the accident, the young motorist was taken to the Southern New Hampshire Medical Center located in Nashua. He was later air lifted to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

The driver lived in Manchester. After graduating from high school in Milford, he enlisted in the Army and served in Afghanistan.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were more than 10,500 people that were killed in speeding-related accidents in the Untied States in 2009. Speeding was a factor in nearly a third of all traffic accidents that were reported during the year. These types of accidents cost society approximately $40 billion each year.

In all states, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration level of 0.08 or higher.

Of the nearly 11,000 alcohol-related car accidents in 2009, more than 7,000 of those killed were the drivers that were legally drunk, nearly 3,000 were the vehicle’s occupants and almost 1,000 were non-opccupants.

Innocent children are oftentimes the victims of these careless accidents as well. In 2009, nearly 15 percent of the estimated 1,300 children under the age of 15 that were killed in traffic accidents were involved in alcohol-related accidents.

Drivers should keep an extra watchful eye out for drunk drivers during certain times of the day and week. Intoxicated drivers are more likely to be out on our roadways and causing collisions during the evening hours. You’re four times more likely to be involved in an accident with a drunk driver during this time. Motorists should also be cautious during the weekend. A majority of those killed in these types of accidents were the result of weekend collisions.

Regardless of when you are traveling on the roadways, you’re asked to keep an eye out for impaired drivers. If you’re out and you suspect that someone is intoxicated and is about to set out on our roadways, you’re urged to intervene.

Offer them with advice on other ways to get home, including called a family member or a friend, calling a taxi, getting a hotel room or staying at a buddy’s house. With a conscious effort from everyone, we can all help to reduce the number of fatalities cause by drunk driving accidents.
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Holiday weekends are some of the deadliest times to be driving on our roadways. One main contributing factor to these roadways fatalities is drunk driving accidents in Boston and elsewhere throughout the state.

This year, the Massachusetts State Police and a number of local law enforcement agencies across the state will be participating in the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign. This is an enforcement campaign that aims to bust drivers that jump behind the wheel after they have been drinking. The increased efforts are taking place from August 19th through September 5th, but will officers be putting extra focus on busting these tipsy drivers over the long Labor Day holiday weekend.

The enforcement effort is not only meant to increase visibility of officers on our roadways, but it is also used to help to raise awareness about the dangers and the consequences of impaired driving. Law enforcement agencies will be using a number of public education tools, including banner, posters and campaign ads to spread the word.

Our Massachusetts drunk driving accident attorneys understand that, in addition to state police, there will be a number of local and campus police departments that will also be out on our roadways conducting sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols over the Labor Day Weekend. The patrolling efforts are used to take drunk drivers off of our roadways and to keep innocent motorists safe over the celebratory weekend.

Mother’s Against Drunk Driving doesn’t believe that these enforcement efforts are enough to keep everyone safe. The organization predicts that more than 10,000 people will die because of accidents that are caused by an alcohol-impaired driver this year. These types of crashes account for roughly a third of all traffic accident fatalities every year.

For this reason, officers will be practicing a zero-tolerance policy. If you are busted by an officer, then you could potentially lose your driver’s license, you could require the installation of an ignition-interlock device and you could even face some jail time. All of these consequences don’t even include all of the time lost from work and the fees and fines from court you may face because of a conviction. None of these consequences include the public humiliation and embarrassment. Sentences are much stricter if a drunk driver imposes injury to another person.

The Labor Day weekend was ranked as the second most fatal holiday period on our roadways in 2009.

Holiday weekend car accident fatalities in 2009:

-Fourth of July: 410 fatalities.

-Labor Day: 360 deaths.

-Memorial Day: 473 fatalities.

-New Year’s: 468 deaths.

-Thanksgiving: 411 fatalities.

-Christmas: 262 deaths.

“Drunk driving is a major public safety threat that still claims thousands of lives every year,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
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