Sep 5, 2016 | 2 min read

Alleged Drunk Driver in Raleigh NC Kills 3

A district court judge in Wake County NC told a suspected DUI driver in court last week that he could spend 70 years in prison if convicted for drunk driving and various felonies stemming from a weekend wreck in Raleigh that left three dead.

In addition to DUI, North Carolina State Police charged Jaciel Espino-Montes, 22, with three counts of aggravated felony death by vehicle and three counts of aggravated felony serious injury by vehicle.

The deadly crash occurred on Highwoods Blvd. in Raleigh at 2:30 AM on Aug. 21.

The judge told him that he could get 17 years in prison per count if convicted for aggravated felony death by vehicle, and seven years for each count of aggravated felony serious injury.

Police reported that he was driving an Isuzu SUV at about 50 MPH when it went off the side of the road and slammed into a light pole and tree before flipping over.

Seven people were in the SUV. Three were killed and three were injured.

Our View

We hope that the families of the deceased filed a wrongful death lawsuit immediately in this terrible drunk driving tragedy. As drunk driving attorneys licensed and practicing in North Carolina and Virginia, our goal in wrongful death cases is to find every last source of insurance recovery funds to help the client obtain compensation for their pain and suffering and assorted funeral expenses.

The above accident sounds particularly reckless, so there is the possibility of punitive damages being awarded as well. There were many people involved in the accident, so there are most likely several insurance policies that could be a source of funds.

Wrongful death lawsuits often settle for millions of dollars, and that money can be used to help the families to get through their pain and to replace the lost income of the deceased.