Articles Posted in Drunk Driving Victims

Twenty-six months after causing a horrific DUI crash that claimed the life of a young Army soldier, Ashley East stood before Lee County Circuit Court Judge Thomas S. Reese for her sentencing on February 15th. The Judge allowed friends and family from both the prosecution and defense sides of the case to step up and offer testimony about Army Staff Sgt. Danny Beougher, his wife, Lauren, and East, the defendant. While the judge listened patiently, sobs from family members on each side of the case could be heard throughout the courtroom.

Sgt. Beougher was killed Dec. 8, 2007 on Hancock Bridge Parkway in North Fort Myers, while home on leave. His wife, Lauren Beougher, was critically injured when authorities allege a truck driven by East, 26, crossed the median and slammed into the Beougher’s Jeep Cherokee as they headed home for the holidays. Their car was filled with Christmas presents for their family.

Judge Reese noted that he “almost found it incredible” as he referred to comments made by East following the crash. East had stated that “she was only doing what everybody else does” when she made the decision to drive drunk that night. He said in his pre-sentencing statement that while East had testified that “she felt she was a victim of society and the media”, and she expressed “sincere regret for the accident she caused,” he felt the incident should not be categorized as an accident at all. Reese admonished East by saying her actions “killed a person, and almost killed someone else”, and “she alone was the person responsible for causing the crash.”

Mothers Against Drunk Driving, (MADD), and Florida personal injury lawyers are urging people to take action in support of a proposed bill intended to reduce the number of drunk drivers on Florida roads.

The lifesaving bill requires ignition interlocks for all first time convicted drunk drivers-even though first time offenders are not really “first time”, as people typically drive drunk 87 times before being arrested. Ignition interlocks for all first time convicted drunk drivers are proven to reduce DUI repetitiveness, decrease drunk driving deaths and prevent injuries. Currently, 12 states have this lifesaving law in place.

Senator Stephen R. Wise, (R-Jacksonville) introduced SB 924, which would require that an ignition interlock device be used for a specified period after a first conviction of driving under the influence of alcohol. It requires a court to order a person who is convicted of driving under the influence not to operate a motor vehicle for a specified period unless that vehicle is equipped with a functioning ignition interlock device.

 
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 With the Holiday season upon us, you can expect to encounter more drunk and impaired drivers on area roadways, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, (MADD). Their statistics show that this time of year is the most deadly when it comes to alcohol-related crashes, estimating that more than 1,000 people will die in drunk driving accidents between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. The figures point to the increase in special social events and parties, and the increase in the consumption of alcohol, as factors. MADD points out the irony of these facts, in that drinking and driving is one of the most easily preventable catastrophes, noting that drivers simply need to make the choice to not drink and get behind the wheel of their car.

MADD has been advocating against the dangers of drunk driving since 1986, and undertakes many programs and services in their efforts to warn the public of the dangers involved. One of their more successful campaigns may seem simplistic in theory, but yet it has proven to be extremely effective in reducing the number of drunk drivers on the road. The “Designate A Driver Program” is designed to encourage Holiday partygoers to select one member of their group to remain sober when attending any party where alcohol will be served. This eliminates the question about who will be driving or how other members of the group will be getting home. Of course, this planning ahead is not applicable to just attending the office Christmas party, but should be utilized year-’round.

Since 1981, every President of the United States has demonstrated his commitment to preventing impaired driving by proclaiming December as National Drunk and Drugged Driving (3D) Prevention Month. The National Highway traffic Safety Administration, (NHTSA), reminds you that their primary message during the December holiday season is Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk – Designate a Sober Driver. They provide the tips below to help make sure you arrive home safely, and do not become a Holiday fatality statistic:

The city of Cape Coral, Southwest Florida’s largest with a population of around 160,000, has experienced a rash of tragic accident fatalities in 2009. With the explosive growth the city has experienced in recent years comes the potential for deadly car and motorcycle crashes, some of which are caused by drivers who are found to be drunk or otherwise impaired while behind the wheel despite the serious consequences for DUI drivers.

On Tuesday, September 15th, motorcyclist Donald Erwin, 59, was riding his bike eastbound on Pine Island Road, nearing the Chiquita Boulevard intersection, when a vehicle driven by 62-year-old Virginia Murphy pulled into the bike’s path, according to police reports. Erwin attempted to stop, sliding into the front of Murphy’s car, and he was ejected. He was not wearing a helmet. Erwin was transported to Lee Memorial Hospital by helicopter, but died from his injuries. Cape Coral Police spokesperson Connie Barron says a criminal investigation is being conducted to determine if alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash.

Just two days earlier, a car driven by 17-year-old Joshua A. Metcalf crashed into a pine tree after first drifting off Santa Barbara Boulevard and into the median. Metcalf over corrected and the car veered across the road at a high rate of speed and into a vacant lot on the right side of the road, where it struck the tree. Metcalf and his passenger, 16-year-old Zamantha Gordillo, were both pinned inside the vehicle, and had to be extricated by the Cape Coral Fire & Rescue workers on the scene. Metcalf was wearing his seatbelt, but his female passenger was not. Metcalf was flown to Lee Memorial Hospital’s Trauma Unit, and Gordillo was transported there by ambulance, and they were both reported to be in critical condition.

Since 1971 Bruce L. Scheiner, the Founder and Senior Attorney, at Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Personal Injury Lawyers, has been disturbed by the tragedies caused by drunk drivers. He urges everyone to refrain from drinking and driving. He, his associates and his staff want to remind you that they sue drunk drivers. Labor Day weekend is a time when family and friends gather. Make it a “happy” occasion – not a “tragic” one.

As a reminder not to drink and drive, here is a summary of the drunk driving laws in Florida:

The State of Florida drunk driving laws prohibits driving any type of vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 percent or above. The .08 percent BAC limit is the standard measurement used across the United States for the “impaired” driver. This limit is lower for drivers of commercial vehicles (.04%) and virtually non-existent for drivers under the age of 21 (.02%).

National law enforcement and Transportation Department officials released figures this month that show the number of women drivers arrested for driving drunk has increased dramatically over the last decade. From 1998 to 2007, the number of women drivers arrested for driving while under the influence increased by nearly 30%, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Each year, approximately 2,000 traffic fatalities involve women drivers.

The subject has recently been brought to attention after a tragic accident in Westchester County, New York, involving a female driver whose blood alcohol content was found to be 0.19 at the time of the crash, more than twice the legal limit of .08. The woman, who was killed in the crash along with her 2-year-old daughter, three young nieces and three men in the vehicle she smashed into, was also found to have smoked marijuana no more than an hour before the horrific crash.

Despite the new trend, drunken driving arrests remain dominated by men. In 1998, 676,911 men were arrested for being under the influence, compared with 626,371 arrests in 2007. More than 126,000 women were arrested for DUI in 1998, a number that increased to 162,493 in 2007.

 
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When it comes to being vigilant about reducing the number of drunk driving-related deaths and injuries, Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner Personal Injury Lawyers knows that actions speak louder than words.

With almost four decades of experience fighting for the legal rights of people victimized by drunk drivers, the family of attorneys and support staff at Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Personal Injury Lawyers is painfully aware of the devastating effects of this serious crime. “Every day, we deal with the tragedy facing victims and their families, helping them put their lives back together after a drunk driver has turned their world upside down”, says Bruce Scheiner.

The efforts of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, (M.A.D.D.), among other factors, seem to be working in reducing the numbers of traffic fatalities caused by drunk drivers. According to National Department of Transportation, the number of overall traffic fatalities reported in 2008 hit their lowest level since 1961, with 37,261 deaths, and fatalities in the first three months of 2009 continue to decrease.

In Florida, however, the news is not so encouraging. According to a report from the DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov, published in June 2009, the number of overall traffic fatalities in the Sunshine State was 3,213 in 2007. Of those, 917, or 29%, were alcohol or impaired driver-related. For the year 2008, while the overall number was lower at 2,978, those caused by alcohol or impaired motorists remained at 29%, or 875 fatalities. As the numbers indicate, there is still much work to be done in eliminating drunk drivers from Florida’s roadways.

Personal injury lawyers have long supported organizations like M.A.D.D., and their grass roots efforts to keep responsible drivers safe behind the wheel. In Lee County, for example, Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner Personal Injury Lawyers worked closely with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and M.A.D.D. personnel to re-establish a M.A.D.D. Chapter here, with Bruce and Cheryl Scheiner personally donating office space for the M.A.D.D. Cape Coral location. “There is nothing accidental about a DUI – it is a crime that can have significant, life altering consequences for the victims of a DUI crash,” says Donald Murray, M.A.D.D. Florida State Executive Director. “Death and serious bodily injury can destroy a family. While Mothers Against Drunk Driving does not and cannot endorse any particular law firm, we are very grateful to Bruce and Cheryl Scheiner for their history of supporting MADD in their community, and for serving the victims and survivors of DUI crashes.”