A man in Bluffton, South Carolina has been charged with DUI and leaving the scene of a fatal three car accident on April 13.
Bluffton police stated that the man was witnessed driving erratically in Bluffton on May River road. When he hit the other vehicles, he continued to drive and then crashed his car. At that point, he got out and fled on foot.
The South Carolina DUI accident killed one, and another was seriously injured.
The alleged DUI driver is a member of the Russian National Golf Team, and also is a motivational speaker.
The police state that he has been charged with two felony DUIs: one resulting in death and the other resulting in great bodily injury. He also was charged with hit and run resulting in death, leaving the scene of a collision resulting in great bodily injury, and driving under a suspended license.
The man was denied bond by the judge.
Our View
South Carolina has one of the worst records in the country for DUIs resulting in death. The NHTSA states that the state of South Carolina is worst for the percentage of traffic deaths that involve drunk driving.
In 2013, South Carolina had 767 traffic deaths; of those, 335 were due to drunk driving. That is 44%, and well above the 31% national average.
By comparison, only 29% of traffic deaths in North Carolina were due to drunk driving in the same year. In Georgia, 25% of deaths by vehicle involved DUI.
South Carolina legislators have been getting tougher on drunk drivers. In 2014, the state legislature enacted what is known as Emma’s Law. This law mandates that first time DUI offenders with a BAC of .15% or more must pay to install an ignition interlock device in their vehicle.
Our Virginia and North Carolina personal injury attorneys are pleased that South Carolina is getting tougher on drunk drivers. Far too many innocent lives are lost to foolish and reckless drunk drivers.
Our personal injury attorneys who represent the families of those killed by drunk drivers in wrongful death lawsuits strongly support tougher laws to discourage drunk driving.
Another was to discourage drunk driving is to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the person or his or her estate if their negligence led to a loved one’s death.
Wrongful death lawsuits can help grieving families to obtain compensation to help them in the aftermath of such a tragedy. A wrongful death settlement, such as this settlement in Virginia for $3.5 million, can be very important to keep the family financially afloat for the years after the accident.
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