One woman died in a recent accident in New York allegedly caused by drunk driving. The car accident took place early in the morning on a Friday. The woman who died was in her 20s.
The crash occurred at 3:30 a.m. Police said the woman was the front-seat passenger in a car operated by her boyfriend. The woman reportedly told him to slow down, and seconds later, the car crashed into the rear part of a school bus that had been parked. The woman died in the crash, while the man suffered minor injuries.
The man apparently told police he had consumed three shots and six beers prior to driving the car. He told authorities that after the accident occurred, he attempted to kill himself. Police said his blood alcohol content was determined to be .176, which is more than two times the legal limit. The man was charged with vehicular manslaughter, and if he ends up being convicted, he faces as many as 15 years in state prison.
The surviving loved ones of the woman who lost her life in the New York car accident may decide to file a wrongful death claim against the man who was driving the car. They have the right to seek damages that, if awarded, may help them to cover the woman’s burial costs and other damages incurred as a result of the tragic crash. If the man is convicted of the criminal charges, proof of his conviction may be presented in civil court as evidence of his liability for the fatal car accident.
Source: New York Daily News, “Driver tried suicide after drunken crash killed ‘girlfriend’“, Denis Slattery, Dec. 19, 2015