Students of all ages look forward every year to spring break. It not only signals that summer break is around the academic bend but, for many of those in high school and college, it means it’s time to party. Unfortunately, many of those students feel like a party is not a party unless drugs or alcohol are involved. Add a car into the mix and a fatal accident is an all-too-frequent outcome. One Texas woman is still awaiting a trial date for her part in a fatal accident where alcohol played a large part.
In the early morning hours of St. Patrick’s Day 2017, six people were walking on the side of the road in a bike lane when a car veered from its lane of traffic into the bike lane. At least four of the pedestrians were hit and the impact critically injured one, a 19-year-old female. She died the next day after being placed on life support after the accident.
The driver of the car was said to be under the influence of alcohol and drugs at the time of the incident, according to the prosecution. The pretrial discovery period in the case has lasted over a year, prompting the judge to set a trial date to spark headway between the two teams of attorneys. After indictment by a grand jury in late 2017, the driver pleaded not guilty to the numerous charges against her, including intoxication manslaughter.
A guilty verdict by a jury will change the course of this woman’s life but the lives of many more people were adversely affected because of her actions that night. Through wrongful death lawsuits, the surviving family members might be able to achieve some measure of comfort by holding negligent parties financially accountable. A Texas attorney who knows the laws of the state will be able to guide a family through the process of filing for monetary damages after losing a loved one in a fatal accident.