When people choose to climb behind the wheel after drinking, they put the lives of everyone else on the road in danger. Many automobile accident attorneys Gallatin know that in a split second, a bad decision can lead to a catastrophic accident. That is what happened to a young Tennessee teen celebrating spring break with his friends in Panama Beach. According to the Panama City News Herald, the 18-year-old had a brief interaction with law enforcement when he backed up into another vehicle approximately 30 minutes before the fatal crash occurred. Although the teen admitted that he was slightly buzzed from drinking, he climbed behind the wheel again. He then continued to drive with a blood alcohol content level of 0.159 percent. That was when he allegedly fell asleep while driving and smashed into another car, killing the 22-year-old driver of the vehicle.
Rather than try the now 19-year-old as a youth and sentence him to receive treatment, the judge presiding over the case ordered the boy to spend 10 years in prison for DUI manslaughter. The teen is mandated to create a talk on how the fatal crash has influenced his life, and present it to the Bay County Chamber of Commerce. He must also talk to high school students about the dangers of drinking and driving at least twice a year.
Teen driver alcohol consumption
Teenager motorists and alcohol are a deadly combination. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that while traffic accidents were the leading cause of teen fatalities in 2011, nearly one-quarter of those accidents involved alcohol. Inexperience and the inability to make wise choices in certain situations, makes teenage drivers three times more likely than experienced drivers to be involved in a serious car accident, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Alcohol can make the situation even worse.
DUIs change lives
Mothers Against Drunk Driving reported that 10,076 people were killed in drunk driving auto accidents in 2013, and another 290,000 people were seriously injured. In Tennessee alone, 295 people were fatally injured in DUI accidents in 2012, which was a 14 percent increase from the previous year. Unfortunately, drunk driving cases are familiar territory for automobile accident attorneys in Gallatin.
Injured victims of drunk driving collisions may find it helpful to partner with automobile accident attorneys in Gallatin. Some people may be eligible to receive compensation for their medical expenses, property damage and lost wages from work.