One drunk driving incident is one too many, but people continue to drink too much and get behind the wheel of a car. If society is fortunate, these people are caught, charged, learn their lesson and never repeat the act again. We are doubly fortunate when such as act does not result in drunk driving accidents, which is why it is disturbing when we learn about people with multiple drunk driving convictions that are still allowed to drive. Houston readers will be relieved to know that one such repeat offender will not be a threat to city streets for a long time.
A 53-year-old Montgomery County man was sentenced to 30 years in prison after his ninth drunk driving conviction. The man asked for probation, but the request was denied due to prior convictions. The man was charged with driving under influence after Montgomery County officers observed him drift into the oncoming lane back in September 2011.
The man has drunk driving convictions in Texas that go back prior to 1993. That year he was sentenced for his third drunk driving conviction, and he served three years. He has also been arrested for drunk driving in Tennessee and Florida. It is unclear if he served any time for those charges.
He will have to serve at least 7.5 years before he is eligible for parole. Strangely enough, he was already in jail for a drunk driving conviction; he received a tenth charge in 2012, for which he plead guilty and received a 10-year sentence. The fact that the man has not injured anyone due to his habitual drinking and driving is a good thing; his actions could have negatively impacted many people. Anyone who is injured in such an accident has the legal right to seek compensation for pain and suffering, medical expenses or lost wages due to accident recovery time.
Source: Chron.com, “Ninth DWI gets Montgomery County man 30 years in prison” Carol Christian, Aug. 22, 2013