If it’s been stated once, it’s been stated a thousand times: a New Jersey drunk driving defense can only be complicated by a traffic accident. As Garden State DWI and drug DUI defense attorneys, I and my colleagues are serious when we say that causing an accident while possibly intoxicated is usually going to make for a difficult time in court. This is why we usually recommend that anyone involved in a DWI- or drug DUI-related car, truck or motorcycle collision seek professional legal help as soon as possible following the incident.
When someone suggests that a drunken driving charge can be complicated by a traffic accident, it is also important to point out that causing injury or death to another individual can compound the offense, which should be cause to contact a qualified DWI lawyer. Whether one lives in Atlantic, Bergen, Hudson or Sussex County, when you add an injury-related or fatal parkway wreck to a charge of driving under the influence, law enforcement and the local courts take a dim view of the situation. Naturally, if proven innocent of any drug- or alcohol-related charges, the motorist can possibly breathe a sigh of relief, but most serious DUI-DWI arrests are hardly “a walk in the park” when property damage or personal injury is involved.
Of course, it is interesting that despite the logic behind not drinking and driving, these incidents do, in deed, take place on a fairly regular basis all year long. To avoid a DWI summons, our suggestion, as usual, is to avoid getting behind the wheel at any time when a person believes that they may possibly have some alcohol in their system. The same thing goes for the taking of certain prescription medications, which may lead to a drug DUI.
As we have said, causing the death of another individual while allegedly under the influence of beer, wine or hard liquor is not a situation in which anyone would want to find their self. Unfortunately, this kind of scenario does happen with surprising frequency, which brings us to the news article referenced above. According to various reports, a New Jersey driver was recently sentenced to nine years in jail after being convicted of a fatal 2008car accident that caused the death of an elderly woman.
Based on information a few days ago, Diane Williams, a 52-year-old was convicted on a number of charges related to a fatal traffic collision on Rte 557 in southern New Jersey that took place on October 31, 2008. Based on police reports, the woman’s vehicle initially struck a roadway guardrail before it crashed into another vehicle containing three occupants. Two of the victims were seriously injured, but 84-year-old Estella Mills of Atlantic County died eight days later from her injuries.
Motorist gets prison term in fatal highway crash, APP.com, August 30, 2014