Dec 28, 2012 | Car Accidents, DUI & DWI, Trucking/Tractor-Trailer Accidents, Uncategorized
Authorities believe speed to be the cause of a fatal accident in Mint Hill Friday night.
Police were dispatched to Lawyers Road and Truelight Church Road in reference to a hit and run causing property damage.
Once authorities arrived on the scene of the crash they found a 25-year-old Concord man dead after he had crashed his 2001 Chevrolet Truck.
The man had crashed into a mailbox and overturned his truck before finally coming to a rest on all four wheels.
It is still unknown whether alcohol was a factor in the crash.
As the speed you drive increases, your chances of being involved in a crash causing serious injury or death increases exponentially. Speed is the number one cause of traffic collisions and quite possibly one of the most controllable. If you or someone you know and love has been in a serious collision involving speed, it’s time to call the experienced Accident Attorneys of Reeves, Aiken, and Hightower at 704-499-9000 or 877-374-5999 toll-free.
Dec 20, 2012 | Car Accidents, DUI & DWI, Personal Injury, Uncategorized
Three Charlotte Mecklenburg Police are recovering from injuries after two accidents occurred in the same location involving drunk drivers Saturday night.
In the first accident, two officers were injured around 11:30 p.m. while investigating an accident on Independence Boulevard at Eastway Drive when a man hit a patrol car, and then crashed into a second patrol car. Both patrol cars had lights flashing.
At the time the cars were struck, the officers were standing in the road and were hit by one of the patrol cars.
Both officers were transported to Carolinas Medical Center with serious leg injuries. One of the officers was released Sunday, while the other was stable that evening.
The man who struck the officers was charged with DWI, felony serious injury by vehicle, open container, and reckless driving, among other charges.
As more officers came to investigate the scene, around 2:30 a.m. another drunk driver hit a CMPD patrol car and a second car, both of which also had lights flashing.
An officer sitting in one of the patrol cars was knocked unconscious upon impact. An officer in the second car was uninjured.
Police arrested the second offender and charged him with DWI and felony serious injury by vehicle.
The officer that was knocked unconscious was kept at CMC Sunday afternoon for observation and was in stable condition by that evening.
Recent studies in 2010 reveal that traffic accidents accounted for 73 out of every 160 police deaths in the United States that year. It’s no mystery that officers put themselves in danger every day while on duty to serve and protect our nation’s citizen’s and communities. Motorists should always be alert for emergency personnel and vehicles on, around, and near the road. If you have been involved in an accident involving an emergency vehicle or otherwise, you need an attorney on your side to protect your rights. Call the trusted Accident Attorneys of Reeves, Aiken, and Hightower at 704-499-9000 or 877-374-5999 toll-free.
Dec 19, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Felony DUI, Uncategorized
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) sand the U.S. Congress have agreed in unison that ignition interlock in vehicles be made a mandatory requirement for anyone convicted of a DWI, including first time offenders. NTSB and Congress also believe that this power should rest with the states, allowing each state to craft their own mandatory requirements.
Specifically, according to the safety bill adopted by Congress last year, states will be given federal grants in order to aid the ignition interlock, ensuring that each state can comply with the requirement if desired. Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, Pub. L. 112-141. ( U.S.)(2011). The bill was introduced after a special investigation into vehicle crashes, resulting from intoxicated drivers travelling down the wrong way of the roadways. The NTSB ultimately concluded that installing the interlock ignition would greatly reduce the amount of accidents caused by intoxicated drivers.
There are three instances in which the state of North Carolina currently requires ignition interlock as a condition of regaining one’s driver’s license: (1) the person has an alcohol concentration of 0.15 or more; (2) the person was convicted of another offense, involving impaired driving within seven years of the offense for which the person’s license is revoked; or (3), the person was sentenced at an “Aggravated Level One,” which is the highest level of punishment one can receive for a misdemeanor DWI. Thus, our state’s system is currently not as rigid as the NTSB requirement. In order to comply with the requirement and be awarded federal money, North Carolina would have to expand the mandatory interlock ignition requirement to all persons charged with a DWI.
In order to jumpstart production of the ignition interlock, the NTSB and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration have united to begin working to develop this “high tech” equipment through a cooperative research program referred to as the DADSS program.
The DADSS system is opposed to the current interlock ignition, believing that it is too burdensome on the use by widespread public. DADDSS thinks the current system, which requires the driver to blow into a breathalyzer every time they start the car, is an extremely intrusive system.
Thus, DADSS has created two less intrusive alternatives for the interlock ignition. The first system would be a touch-based approach, measuring the person’s alcohol concentration by their skin. The second would be similar to the breathalyzer, however rather than “blowing,” sensors would be used to test the driver’s breath on the exhale.
Many in support of the DADSS system believe that this maybe one of the few times in which the government can utilize technology to prevent a crime, without “unduly burdening the individual freedom.” If they are correct, there could be no constitutional violations raised, and serious injury and deaths due to drunk drivers may be greatly reduced, to the benefit of all drivers alike.
If you or a loved one has been charged with driving under the influence, driving under suspension, or any other alcohol related charge, call the law offices of Reeves Aiken & Hightower for a consultation. We know that a DUI can determine the next year or so of a person’s life; therefore, it is important for you to get proper representation. Call us at 704-499-9000, or toll-free at 877-374-5999.
Dec 7, 2012 | Car Accidents, DUI & DWI, Trucking/Tractor-Trailer Accidents, Uncategorized
A man is in jail on a $1 million dollar bail after being involved in a suspected DWI wreck Sunday that killed a tow truck driver.
The 50-year-old man was driving his box truck on Carolina Beach Road near McQuillan Drive when he drove into the now deceased 55-year-old man who was helping a motorist on the road.
The driver fled the scene, but was stopped nine miles down the road by police.
The man is charged with second-degree murder, driving whilc impaired, felony hit-and-run, habitual driving while impaired and driving while his license was revoked.
The man was unable to reduce his bail after the District Attorney after highlighting the man’s eight DWI convictions, 11 license suspensions, and a previous hit-and-run conviction.
The man’s court date for the accident is November 29.
In 2009, there were 10,839 fatalities from crashes involving a driver with a Blood Alcohol Content of .08 or higher. This number accounts for 32% of the total traffic fatalities that year. Every single day drunk drivers are getting behind the wheel and putting other road users at risk. It’s important to always be on the lookout for someone driving erratically and to notify the proper authorities when appropriate. If you or a loved one is involved in a drunk driving accident or a charge of DWI, call the DWI Attorneys of Reeves, Aiken, and Hightower at 704-499-9000 or 877-374-5999 toll-free.
Dec 4, 2012 | Car Accidents, DUI & DWI, Personal Injury, Uncategorized
A single vehicle wreck has left one person dead and another injured in northwest Charlotte Monday morning.
According to Charlotte Mecklenburg Police, the crash happped around 3 a.m. on Bellhaven Boulevard near Ravenswood Road when they lost control of their car and slammed into a utility pole, coming to a halt by crashing into an embankment.
The car caught fire after hitting the embankment.
The male passenger was transported by MEDIC to Carolinas Medical Center Main with non-life threatening injuries.
During the incident, two police officers also suffered minor injuries.
Alcohol and speed were a factor in the case.
Studies conducted in 2009 reveal that, on average, an alcohol-impaired driving fatality occurred every 48 minutes that year. Drunk driving takes lives and it’s devastating effects touch families across the country. If you or someone you know is involved in an alcohol-impaired collision or is facing charges of DWI, call the Attorneys of Reeves, Aiken, and Hightower at 704-499-9000 or 877-374-5999 toll-free.
