Driving drunk on the roads of Virginia (VA) can make victims of both those who are hurt and killed in a DUI accident and the at-fault driver. This was powerfully illustrated by a case in Newport News, VA in which a man who hit a tow truck driver in the city, received a prison sentence of 7years and 10 months.
The defendant had pled guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol and aggravated involuntary manslaughter in early 2011 after causing the fatal crash on I-64 on August 9, 2009. The wrecker operator had been on the left shoulder of the hghway dealing with a disabled minivan, and the DUI driver had a blood-alcohol content of .26.
This video describes the consequences of drunk driving:
The 2009 crash highlighted the vulnerability of tow truck drivers on the roads of Virginia and prompted state legislators to extend Virginia’s “move over law” to include tow truck drivers as well as police and EMTs. Drivers who see an emergency vehicle or wrecker at a traffic stop or crash scene must change lanes or slow down. Tow truck drivers remain vulnerable, however. Two were killed in a single Newport News accident on I-64 during the summer of 2011.
As experienced Virginia accident injury attorneys, my colleages and I have reported on numerous cases in which DUI drivers have caused accidents. Some have been fatal and given rise to wrongful death lawsuits from family members seeking compensation for the death of a loved one.
This FAQ answers questions about recovering for a wrongful death resulting from a car accident.
DM