Police arrested a suspected drunk driver for his involvement in a Dec. 24 accident in Houston that killed his passenger. The accident injured two people in another vehicle as well. The driver faces two intoxicated assault charges as the result of his intoxicated condition at the time of the accident.
According to reports, the collision happened early in the morning on East Crosstimbers. The 31-year-old alleged drunk driver was in a Chevrolet Aveo that collided with a Ford van. The police reported that they believe the suspect ran a red light at a high rate of speed. Both the driver and his passenger ended up ejected from the car upon impact. The passenger in the car succumbed to her injuries on Dec. 25. Both occupants of the other car suffered minor injuries as a result of the car accident and were treated at a local hospital.
Suffering injuries from a car accident can be a serious financial burden as the expenses from a collision may go beyond the injured party’s available resources. In addition to medical bills, injuries may result in a victim losing time from work or being forced to leave a job altogether. A person who has been injured because of an at-fault driver may have the grounds to pursue legal action based on the driver’s negligence.
In a case such as this where the at-fault driver’s behavior is criminal in nature, a plaintiff may be able to use police reports of the accident to back up claims of negligent driving. Evidence that the driver was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the accident may assist in proving their liability for damages.
Source: Houston Chronicle , “Suspected drunk driver arrested in crash that left passenger dead”, Craig Hlavaty , December 26, 2014
