Earlier this month, a sentence was handed down against a 28-year-old Wisconsin man who was driving under the influence and caused a car accident in Wheaton in June 2010. The crash resulted in the death of the man’s 26-year-old passenger. Two others were seriously injured in the crash.
According to a criminal complaint, the driver’s blood alcohol level was 0.131 at the time of the accident. Records show that the man was driving when his Pontiac GTO hit a tractor-trailer that was traveling southbound before crashing into a Mazda 6 that was traveling northbound.
The defendant was sentenced to two years in jail and has already paid $17,439 in restitution.
The driver of the Mazda, who testified about what happened during the accident in court, was trapped in his car after the collision with chest trauma and fractured femora. The victim’s female passenger suffered a fractured vertebra in her neck and a broken bone in her ankle. The driver stated that he’s been going to counseling for two and a half years since the accident occurred to deal with the emotional trauma he suffered and has continued to take medications.
As was the case with this accident, car collisions can often result in emotional and physical damages as well as death. Victims or family members of victims of any type of car accident may be eligible to receive to cover medical expenses, lost wages, and in the most tragic instances, funeral costs. Working with an experienced personal injury attorney is often a wise choice.
Source: The Chippewa Herald, “Crash haunts defendant, victim,” Rod Stetzer, Jan. 17, 2013
