Impaired Driving Can Involve Low Blood Sugar
Oct 22, 2014
Austin, TX (Law Firm Newswire) October 22, 2014 – A recent wrongful death case in New Jersey revealed that impaired driving does not always involve driving while under the influence of alcohol.
“Daniel Everett, the professional truck driver involved, was driving while impaired, but not because he was drunk. His erratic blood sugar levels made him drive in a similarly erratic manner. His 80,000-pound truck pushed a car off the road into a lake, and its driver drowned,” outlined Austin injury lawyer, Bobby Lee.
Everett was also involved in two other accidents earlier that day.
The truck driver first rear-ended a car stopped at a light. Although the driver was not injured, the vehicle was severely damaged. The second collision involved three vehicles. Everett struck one vehicle as it slowed down in front of him, and the impact shoved the car into a third vehicle. For this accident, the trucker received a careless driving summons. Immediately after leaving the scene of that crash, he drove over a lawn, damaging the property.
Eyewitnesses then observed the same truck driving rapidly and erratically later in the day. Everett rear-ended another car, sending it into a lake, where the truck pinned the vehicle down. It was two hours before first responders were able to remove the car, and the body inside, from the water.
The day after he was arrested, Everett had no recollection of any of the accidents in which he was involved. A week before, he had been diagnosed with diabetes. His blood sugar was completely out of control on the day he was involved in three accidents and one fatal drowning. Everett faces one charge of second-degree death by auto and other citations.“Everett was not able to control his vehicle because he had no control over himself that day,” Lee added.
Toxicology reports indicated that the trucker had no alcohol or drugs in his system at the times of the accidents. Despite the fact he was experiencing a medical emergency during the collisions, he may still face up to ten years in prison if convicted.
To learn more, visit http://www.lgrlawfirm.com
Lee, Gober & Reyna
11940 Jollyville Road #220-S
Austin, Texas 78759
Phone: 512.478.8080
- Drive sober or get pulled over
The phrase was used for a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) drive safe campaign for the Labor Day weekend, but it is something drivers need to remember year-round. The costs of DUI accidents are massive on a personal and property damage level. A recent report released by the NHTSA outlines the disturbing fact that in 2010 alone, there were 13,323 fatalities as a result of individuals driving while impaired. Meanwhile, 430,000 nonfatal injuries racked up a cost of approximately $60 billion. Together, the comprehensive costs (direct costs such as insurance and medical care) and the cost of lost quality […] - Every day, distracted driving kills 11 teens
It’s that time of year. Children are back in school. Those with teens who drive have a lesson to pass on to their children: do not text and drive. While the lesson may be a valuable one on its own, it helps if the parents reinforcing the message do not do precisely what they are asking their teen not to do. According to the National Automotive Authority (NAA), even a five-second glance at a text message can result in death. According to an NAA spokesperson, it takes four seconds to turn right and six seconds to turn left. If a […] - “Talk. Text. Crash.” — Texas Department of Transportation gets deadly serious about driving with cellphones
Recently, the Permian Basin has been the scene of numerous distracted-driving accidents, and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) wants to reduce the numbers. Distracted driving is generally caused by using a cellphone and texting or talking, but Texas accidents have even been caused by drivers brushing their teeth, reading the newspaper, combing hair and applying makeup. TxDOT has launched an information campaign to help drivers stop driving while doing anything else but paying attention to the road. The campaign is marked by the slogan, “Talk. Text. Crash.” It is meant to remind drivers of the very real dangers of […] - Holidays bring out the drunk drivers
Houston was relatively quiet over the Labor Day long weekend, a fact credited to the combined efforts of the sheriff’s department, city police departments and constables’ offices. The multi-agency coverage for the long weekend ensured that many drunk drivers were taken off the roads, but it did not prevent intoxicated Texans from getting behind the wheel. Over the holiday, Harris County racked up a record, reporting 192 DUI arrests. That number bears repeating – 192 arrests for driving while under the influence. One hundred and ninety-two individuals who made the negligent choice to drink too much and then climb behind […] - Texan arrested for texting while driving drunk, doubling danger
A young Texan man, 23, was recently caught not only texting while driving, but texting while driving drunk. According to police, his blood alcohol content (BAC) was twice the legal limit. But for a local crackdown on texting while driving, the man may have escaped apprehension. Officers were out on patrol in a designated area along the interstate when one policeman noticed a driver texting while driving unsafely at highway speeds. Police discovered the young man was holding his cell phone with it on speaker. He insisted that this action counted hands-free phone use. This false belief, held by […]