Police are citing impairment by alcohol as the principal cause of a fatal head-on collision on North Main Street in Sumter, South Carolina (SC). The deadly July 27, 2014, accident claimed two lives and sent six other people to hospitals with serious injuries.
According to television station WLTX-19, the at-fault driver crossed the center line of the busy road near the center of the city shortly before 6 pm. He died in the crash, as did his grandson who was a passenger in the car. The other vehicle involved in the wreck was identified as an SUV. Everyone in the larger vehicle sustained injuries. Tests revealed that that the man who caused the collision had a blood alcohol content nearly three times the legal limit of .08.
This tragedy is merely the latest illustration of the pain, suffering and loss that drunk drivers can inflict on both family members and strangers. No one should require any additional evidence of how drinking too much makes it impossible to safely operate a car, but the examples never seem to stop coming. This is more true in South Carolina than almost anywhere: In 2012, the Palmetto State came close to leading the nation in numbers of DUI/DWI accidents, with 360 deaths related to alcohol use by drivers and a total of 17,906 arrests for violations of drinking and driving laws.
No one should ever take the wheel after overindulging. Sadly, my South Carolina personal injury and wrongful death attorney colleagues and I know that too few take that message to heart.
EJL