A crash in the early morning hours last Saturday claimed the life of a female passenger of an suv. The driver of a pickup truck was traveling on the feeder road of Highway 59, the Eastex freeway. At about 2:00 a.m., he ran a red light and smashed into the Chevrolet Trailblazer suv that was headed west on Aldine Mail Route. The driver of the Trailblazer was seriously injured and rushed to the hospital. His female passenger was killed. The driver of the pickup truck sustained less serious injuries. And tests showed that his blood-alcohol concentration was 0.32, four times the legal limit of 0.08.
Ordinarily, an intoxicated driver who causes a fatal collision can be charged with the felony of intoxication manslaughter. (If an intoxicated driver causes a collision that results in serious bodily injury rather than death, the customary criminal charge would be the felony of intoxication assault.) Here, shockingly, the driver of the pickup truck had two prior felony dwi convictions. (Normally, it takes two prior misdemeanor dwi convictions before the charge reaches the felony level.) In this case, due to his prior felony convictions, the pickup truck driver faces murder charges, with a punishment range up to life in prison.
On his prior criminal cases, the pickup truck driver doubtless sought leniency, urging perhaps that he “had a problem” or had now “learned his lesson.” Tragically, he had been released from confinement and had determined to yet again get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle after drinking heavily, imposing unjustifiable and serious risk upon other motorists using the public roadways in our community. Clearly, he had not learned his lesson. And, now, an innocent woman is dead and her family is left grieving. If the public reports of this incident are proven in court, it is time for the fullest measure of justice to be imposed upon him by the criminal justice system. And, it is also time for any bar which served him while he was grossly over the legal limit to be required to compensate the loved ones of the deceased woman, and to pay for all of the damages of the suv’s driver.
If you or someone you know has been injured in an accident with a drunk driver, contact an attorney at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner by calling (713) 222-7211 or toll free at 713-222-7211.