Those who choose to drink and drive face very serious consequences. One can cause severe and even fatal damage to one’s self and others, and one can also face harsh jail time after the fact. One Texas woman has recently realized the consequences of her poor actions. The woman caused a drunk driving accident that killed two people and injured another, and she has been sentenced to a sobering 38 years in prison.
At first, the woman denied driving over the legal limit, and she claimed instead that her drink at the bar must have been drugged. However, when faced with the evidence of footage from the bar, she decided to come clean. After a year of pleading not guilty, she changed her plea to guilty and admitted to drinking 20 drinks within a four hour period before driving her vehicle.
The woman was driving the wrong way on the I-45 when she collided with a vehicle carrying three persons. Two of the passengers were killed as a result of the accident, and the third person was seriously injured. The woman received two 15-year sentences for intoxication manslaughter and one 8-year sentence for intoxication assault.
The woman claims that she has no memory of the accident. Emotional testimony was given from both sides, and she received close to the maximum sentence for her crimes. Even though she has been given her criminal punishment, she can still be subjected to civil proceedings in Texas. The families of the two victims who were killed could be entitled to wrongful death claims, and the victim who was seriously injured could be entitled to a personal injury claim to help compensate him from the painful and traumatic drunk driving accident he was unfortunately involved in.
Source: kake.com, “Texas Woman Gets 38 Years In Prison For Deadly DUI Crash,” Aug. 2, 2013