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A woman in Chicago has been charged with drunk driving for an accident that killed her passenger on June 16 on the city’s west side. 

The woman was charged this week with a single count of aggravated DUI in a crash causing death, according to the McCook Illinois police chief.

The police stated that at 10:21 pm that day, the woman was going west in her car on 47th St. when she lost control and crossed into oncoming traffic. She hit a car going eastbound. Her passenger was seriously injured and died in the hospital six days later.

The driver and passengers in the other car suffered minor injuries.

The woman is free on a $50,000 bond and is awaiting her initial court date.

Our View

Our work as personal injury attorneys on drunk driving crashes in Virginia and North Carolina has made us familiar with these tragic car accidents. According to MADD, the following statistics about drunk drivers are true:

  • Every two minutes, someone in the US is hurt in a drunk driving crash
  • Two out of three Americans will be in a drunk driving crash in their lifetime
  • In 2013, 28 million people admitted they drove drunk; this is more than the population of Texas
  • 27 people in the US die in drunk driving crashes every day

There is some good news from MADD, however. The number of DUI crash deaths in the US has dropped in half since the organization was founded in 1980. The population of the US has almost doubled since that time, so there are definitely far fewer of these accidents today.

Still, when a drunk driver causes an accident leading to death, it is a tragedy. There is nothing to be done to bring back the dead. But a wrongful death lawsuit can be filed by the surviving family against the negligent driver. This type of civil lawsuit serves as a warning to others to not drive drunk.

Wrongful death lawsuits can bring much-needed compensation to families who have lost a loved one. Many times the deceased was the major breadwinner in the family. The survivors may be children who have no one to provide for them anymore. If your personal injury lawyer is successful in the lawsuit, the family may be awarded substantial compensation that can be used to provide for the needs of the family for many years.

Our drunk driving personal injury attorneys have helped many families in a wrongful death lawsuit get the compensation they deserve. It is a duty we take very seriously.

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