Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog
It seems that almost daily we hear of another drunk driving traffic here in Maryland. Sadly many of those DUI auto and trucking wrecks result in fatalities, most of which could likely have been avoided if the responsible party had taken the time to adhere to simple and worthwhile state laws regarding drinking and driving. Alas, few of these drivers do consider the safety and well-being of others, much less themselves.
It’s no surprise that traffic deaths involving alcohol intoxication or impairment due to prescription drugs is a serious concern at police departments all over the country. As Maryland auto accident lawyers and Washington, D.C., personal injury attorneys, I and my colleagues try to help individuals injured by the negligent acts of others. For those people who are killed as a result of a car, truck or motorcycle collision, we work to represent the victim’s family’s in cases such as wrongful death.
Sad as it is, spouses and children of these victims must still carry on in the absence of the deceased loved one, which can be a strain when household finances are stretched to their limit due to huge medical bills combined with lost wages.
A while back, a Mitchelville woman was sentenced to three years in jail for her negligent actions that killed a Johns Hopkins student last fall. According to court records, 23-year-old Chamica Adams attended happy hour at the District Lounge and Grille. Although Adams planned to have a friend act as designated driver, that woman decided to stay at the bar. Adams subsequently decided to drive home in her friend’s car, according to news reports.
During her stay at the bar, prosecutors stated that Adams consumed three drinks over a span of 90mins — two Tequila Sunrises, as well as another drink containing four types of rum, some of it possibly high-proof liquor. Around 8:30pm, Adams told friends she had to go home and put her five-year-old to bed. Allegedly, her designated driver chose to stay, after which Adams drove away in that friend’s white Dodge.
Based on police reports, Adams was speeding as she tried to turn left onto U Street from 18th Street NW, striking two women who were standing on a traffic island a the corner. After hitting the pedestrians, the woman’s vehicle crashed into the front of a nearby restaurant. Police later claimed that the woman’s blood-alcohol content (BAC) was almost twice the legal limit in Washington, D.C.
One of the pedestrians was killed in the crash; a 26-year-old Austrian student named Julia Bachleitner, who had been attending JHU’s international graduate program. The other woman was severely injured. According to news reports, the Bachleitner family filed a $20 million civil suit against Adams and the C. Fields Group LLC, which owns the bar Adams left from that fateful evening.
Md. woman gets 3 years in fatal Adams Morgan drunk driving crash, WashingtonPost.com, May 16, 2011