When an individual chooses to drive drunk, that person’s chance of getting into a wreck greatly increases. The driver is at a much higher risk for getting himself hurt as well as hurting any passengers in his vehicle for which he is responsible. When transporting friends, a driver typically wants to make sure that he is being extra careful; however, alcohol impairs a driver’s judgment. A Texas teenager has recently pleaded guilty causing a drunk driving accident that killed one of his friends and injured another.
The three teenagers were allegedly leaving a party and were on their way to another. The driver, whose blood alcohol content was 0.146, was speeding as the vehicle went around a curve. The driver lost control of the vehicle, and he ran into a power pole. His front seat passenger was killed on impact, and the passenger in the backseat was seriously injured and had to be taken to an area hospital.
The teenage driver decided to take a plea deal, and he pleaded guilty to felony intoxication manslaughter and felony intoxication assault. He has been sentenced to three years in prison as well as ten years community supervision. As part of his community supervision, he will have to speak to local high schoolers about the dangers of driving drunk.
The Texas prosecutor believed that the requirement for the teenager to speak to high school students will help him to truly see the error of his ways and atone for his poor decisions and the drunk driving accident. The teenager may also face a civil suit from the backseat passenger who may want to file a personal injury claim against the driver. Also, the family of the teenage passenger who was killed may choose to file a wrongful death suit against the driver and any separate owner of the vehicle involved in hopes of getting reimbursed for funeral costs as well as other damages recognized under Texas law.
Source: chron.com, Teen pleads guilty in drunken crash that killed friend, No author, Sept. 26, 2013