NASCAR Driver Michael Waltrip Suspected to be Drunk Driving after a Car Accident in Mooresville, North Carolina | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

According to a Mooresville Police Report, NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip was suspected to be drinking and driving after he caused a car accident involving a motorcycle.

The NASCAR driver had left a shopping center and was attempting to make a u-turn on Perth Road in Moorseville, North Carolina (NC) when he crossed in front of a motorcycle. The motorcycle, driven by Ronald Hausman, hit the driver’s side door of Michael Waltrip’s vehicle.

Ronald Hausman was taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries and Moorseville police on the scene issued a sobriety test to Waltrip. He blew a .06, just under North Carolina’s legal limit of .08. While Waltrip passed the sobriety test police still felt alcohol was a factor in the motorcycle accident. Captain Phil Blocker told reporters, “He did not meet the criteria for the DWI, however it was indicated as a contributing factor…on the accident report.”

This is not the first accident Waltrip has been alleged to be at fault. In 2007, he ran his car off the road by his home in Sherrills Ford. By the time police arrived on the scene he had left the wreckage and walked home. However, no one came to the door when police arrived to give him a sobriety test.

While the legal alcohol limit in North Carolina is .08 driving after you have consumed one drink can severely impair your ability to drive. When you are drinking you response times slow greatly which can be deadly behind the wheel. You can easily run off the roadway, strike another vehicle, or in this case turn in front of another vehicle and become the cause of a serious accident.