Choosing to get into a car with a drunk driver is a decision that can kill. It killed this 16-year-old boy.
It started out as a group of young teens out having a good time drinking. When it was time to head home, the 16-year-old teen in this case made the decision to get into a vehicle with a drunk driver. Seconds later, the drunk driver plowed the car into a telephone pole. The 16-year-old was partially ejected and died at the scene, a mere mile and a half from home. It was a brutal night for his parents; a night of lousy decisions and poor choices by everyone involved.
This gruesome wreck serves as a very graphic reminder to those who serve alcohol, those who get drunk, those who drive drunk and those who choose to ride with a drunk driver, that their actions have consequences; often fatal ones. The whole affair involved many people and not just the dead teen. There were people who kept on serving alcohol when the driver was clearly drunk. There were people who let him drive drunk and ride with him. Everyone in this scenario was ultimately responsible for the death of the young man.
The moral of this story is that every decision we make impacts on others, unless we are acting solo and what we do only affects us alone. The moral is that making a good decision may save your life. Although the teen was a passenger, he chose to drink and chose to ride with an inebriated driver. Those two choices killed him. Those two choices left behind a family coping with pain and anger at how no one made any effort to stop what was going on.
Another choice made prior to this wreck was made by the dead teen; the choice to not wear a seatbelt. Would that have made a difference? Highly likely, but drinking impairs judgement. Would the family have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit? Yes. Death by auto accident as a result of an impaired driver losing control of the car is cause for filing a wrongful death lawusit.
In this case, the family wanted to make a point; that being this type of accident happens to any family, at any time, without rhyme or reason. For the love of life and the love of your family, friends and others, do not get into a vehicle if the driver has been drinking. If you want to see the next sunrise, call a cab, walk or get a sober someone to take you home. It’s just that simple. Be smart.
Charlie Donahue is a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer located in Keene. Donahue handles injury cases in New Hampshire and across the United States. To learn more about New Hampshire injury attorney, Charlie Donahue, visit Donahuelawfirm.com.