A drunk driving collision in Tennessee recently killed a teenage boy who was just a day away from graduating from high school.
Recently, according to News 2, a teenage boy, his girlfriend and the boy’s mother were on their way home from volunteering when they were hit by a drunk driver in Tennessee. The drunk driver hit the front of the other vehicle head-on after swerving into the other side of the road while driving on a highway. The teenage boy died from the effects of the accident, one day after the day of his high school graduation.
A member of his school’s soccer team, the boy had plans to enlist in the U.S. Army and then eventually become a police officer after returning home. The driver responsible for this crash, who had a two-year-old child with her in the vehicle, was charged with two counts of vehicular assault, vehicular homicide, reckless endangerment, and DUI.
Alcohol’s Effect on Driving Ability
To prevent fatal drunk driving collisions like this one, it is illegal for drivers in Tennessee to operate a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration level at or above 0.08, states the Governors Highway Safety Association. When a driver reaches this BAC level, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he or she may:
- Have a hard time concentrating on what is going on around him or her
- Experience short-term memory loss
- Have a difficult time controlling the speed of his or her vehicle
- Experience impaired perception
However, people can still compromise their ability to drive safely when they operate a vehicle with a BAC level below the legal limit of 0.08. For example, when a driver gets behind the wheel with a BAC level of just 0.02, he or she may have a hard time performing two tasks at once. The driver may also find that his or her visual functions decline.
Many Sre Injured or Killed Every Day
Since many drivers disregard the effects alcohol can have on their ability to drive, fatal and injurious accidents continue to occur. According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, approximately 13,000 people die in car accidents involving an intoxicated driver every year and thousands of more sustain injuries. Additionally, of all fatal collisions that occur in the U.S., it is estimated that 32 percent of them involve either a drunk driver or a drunk pedestrian.
Drivers, passengers and pedestrians in Tennessee who are injured in a drunk driving crash may suffer from emotional, financial and physical harm. If you were involved in a drunk driving collision, reach out to an attorney near you to determine what legal steps you should take next.