When drunk drivers leave the scene of a car accident
One scenario that I see frequently in Houston car accidents is a drunk driver who causes the car wreck but flees the scene after the accident.
Most of the time, the intoxicated driver who leaves the scene of the accident does so only because their judgment is impaired through alcohol. Some are so drunk that they do not even really understand that they have been in a car wreck. And others are fearful of being arrested by police and charged with a DWI.
In a recent drunk driver lawsuit I handled, witnesses to the accident chased down the drunk driver and when he stopped at a convenience store, the witness prevented the drunk driver from driving off until the authorities could arrest him. That drunk driver injury case settled just before punitive damages were to be submitted to our jury.
This same pattern was repeated recently in Ft Bend County this week. Reports have a 43-year-old man leaving the scene after an automobile accident and being followed to his residence by a witness to the car accident. The man was arrested for drunk driving and its reported he told the police that he did not remember hitting another vehicle.
The reports have the man charged with driving while intoxicated and failure to stop and give information. Both such charges are no laughing matter in front of Texas juries.
The authorities suggest that if you do follow a drunk driver who leaves the scene of a car accident, to keep your distance, phone the police and do not endanger yourself while waiting for the police to arrive.
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