A 32 year old woman was charged with DUI in a car crash on April 19 that killed a Madison County, North Carolina 8th grader and injured another student.
Madison County, North Carolina police confirmed that the 32 year old driver was charged with DUI, felony death by vehicle and reckless driving in a crash that killed the 13 year old girl.
The other student, a 12 year old girl, is in the ICU at a local hospital. Her injuries are serious, including loss of one eye, broken back and a dislocated shoulder.
The police stated that the crash happened at 9:42 pm as the girls were being driven in a car on US 25-70 in North Carolina. A car was driving south in the north bound lane and hit them nearly head on.
The driver of the car with the girls inside tried to avoid the car, but he could not.
Our View
Our Virginia and North Carolina DUI attorneys are saddened at the loss of life and the serious injuries in yet another North Carolina DUI wreck. A family has lost their 13 year old girl, and another family is now dealing with a 12 year old girl with serious, life altering injuries.
There are far too many DUI crashes in the United States. Nearly 10,000 people were killed in DUI wrecks in 2014, and there were 1070 traffic deaths among children 0-14 that same year.
We would like to see more severe criminal penalties for convicted drunk drivers who kill and injure other people. The more severe the penalties, the more likely that people will think twice before drinking and driving.
Our office also supports the greater use of sobriety checkpoints to assess the level of alcohol impairment in drivers during certain periods of the year, such as around holidays. CDC research shows that sobriety checkpoints reduce the number of alcohol-related wrecks by 9%.
Another way to deter drunk drivers is to sue them in civil court when they kill and/or seriously injure innocent people. Our wrongful death and personal injury lawyers in North Carolina are proud of our record in holding negligent drivers accountable in civil lawsuits.
Many wrongful death lawsuits often end in million dollar or more settlements or verdicts. While this money will not bring back the lost, it can serve as a stark warning to drunk drivers to think twice. The money also is very useful for helping a devastated family come to terms with their loss, and to survive financially as they move on with their lives.
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