Drinking and driving is something that happens all the time, even though people know it is illegal. Even with rideshares such as Uber and Lyft available to get people home safely, many people still feel they are safe to drive after drinking multiple alcoholic beverages. Sometimes they get home without incident, but in many cases, they cause serious accidents. Sometimes they even kill others.
This was the case in May 2011, when a 20-year-old man from Maryland drove home drunk from a party. He got into a car crash in Olney and killed three of his friends, ages 18, 18 and 20. A fourth person, a 19-year-old, survived their injuries.
The man fled the accident scene. Police found him several hours later. His blood alcohol content was twice the legal limit. Initially, he was held on a $500,000 bond, but a judge later reduced it to $50,000.
The man pled guilty to one count of leaving the accident scene and three counts of vehicular manslaughter. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. However, his sentence was later reduced to eight years in prison, plus five years of probation. He served four years in prison before he was released.
In 2018, the man got his driver’s license again. In order for judges to monitor his sobriety, he was ordered to get an ignition interlock device in his vehicle. However, he did not maintain his sobriety for long. He tried to drive after drinking at least 100 times. In some cases, he would drink in Washington, D.C., sleep it off and attempt to drive the next day. Meanwhile, the ignition interlock device was recording all the times he tried to drive with alcohol in his system.
The man had multiple chances to get sober and stop the behavior that killed his friends nearly nine years ago. Instead, he removed the ignition interlock device from his car and his driver’s license got suspended. He continued to drive until he was pulled over in September 2019.
The man was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison. However, he appeared in Montgomery County Circuit Court in late January and a judge ordered him to serve an additional seven years in prison. That was the amount of time suspended from his original sentence. He will spend nine years in prison in total and he will not be eligible for parole.
Every motorist knows that drinking and driving is against the law. Many people get caught once and never do it again, while others never learn their lesson. In the process, they injure or kill innocent people.
A DUI can result in a felony if you seriously injure or kill someone. You will face fines, license loss, jail time, community service and much more. Protect yourself with help from the Columbia DUI & traffic offenses lawyers at the Law Offices of Todd K. Mohink, P.A. He can help protect your future. Call (410) 774-5987 or fill out the online form to schedule a free consultation today.
Resource:
nbcwashington.com/news/local/maryland-dui-driver-who-killed-3-gets-more-prison-time/2209064/
https://www.marylandlawhelp.com/maryland-man-arrested-for-dui-in-atv-crash/
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