A North Carolina teen lost her life Sunday when a drunk driver crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with her vehicle on a Dallas highway.
WCNC-TV reports that this was not the first driving while impaired offense for Howard Pasour, who struck the teen’s vehicle on Dallas-Cherryville Highway. In fact, Pasour has had “at least three other driving while impaired convictions,” with the last offense claiming the life of an innocent teen.
The mourning family however refuses to let their daughter’s death be in vain. Pasour’s blatant disregard for the law has sparked the family to push for stricter penalties for DWI drivers.
According to WTKR-TV, current state law dictates that serious DWI offenders, like Pasour, may be ordered to wear a monitoring device for no more than 60 days. After Pasour’s third DWI conviction, he was ordered to wear an ankle bracelet and even had his license revoked. He was allowed to remove the monitoring bracelet as of January this year.
North Carolina lawmakers have said they will look into changing the penalties for DWI drivers, according to WTKR-TV. This includes the possibility of increasing the length of time convicted DWI offenders are ordered to wear ankle bracelets.
The teen’s mother told WCNC-TV, “We’re going to change laws. We’re going to fix this so these drunk drivers don’t kill other people’s children.”
We commend the teen’s family for showing such strength and courage in a time of loss and mourning. Each year, too many lives are lost to careless DWI drivers. In 2008, 500 people in North Carolina alone lost their lives in alcohol-related accidents, 570 in 2007, according to AlcoholAlert.com.
In this case, a three-times convicted DWI offender claimed the innocent life of a teen due to his carelessness. Pasour will face second-degree murder charges according to WSOC-TV, but at such a great cost. This tragedy shows clear flaws in our legal system. Stricter laws and penalties should be put in place to help prevent other families from enduring this kind of pain and heartache.
If you have lost a family member or loved one due to the negligent actions of a DWI driver, please call our law firm for a consultation, absolutely free of charge.
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