A Tarrant County jury convicted an Arlington man yesterday of three counts of intoxication manslaughter after he drove while he was intoxicated and killed a family of three last July.
Benjamon Ray Stewart, 43, will be sentenced by state District Judge Scott Wisch. He faces 20 years in prison on each count in additioon to 10 years for his failure to stop and render aid. I hope they lock him up and throw away the key.
Stewart rear-ended the Najim Intidam’s Toyota about 2:20 a.m. on Interstate 30 between Eastchase Parkway and Fielder Road in Arlington. The car couldn’t move and sat in a middle lane of the freeway before it was struck again from the rear by a Ford F-450 pickup pulling a loaded trailer. Mr. Intidam, his wife Hanane, and their 11-month-old daughter Nour were tragically killed.
As if this weren’t bad enough, Stewart ran off and hid in nearby woods for an hour before firefighters found him.
His blood alcohol content was a staggering .28%, more than three times the legal limit of .08%.
We Must Stop The Insanity
We have to crack down on drunk drivers in Texas. We have more of them here than in any other state, even California, which has 12 million more people. A shocking 1,296 people died from these crashes in 2012. This figure increased 7% from the year before. The problem is out of control.
In my practice, I’ve seen that drunk driving crashes are often the most serious auto accidents, because they are often high speed, head-on crashes. Here’s a photo of my poor clients’ car in a case that I’m working on now.
I hate drunk drivers, and go after them with a vengeance. I’m also a proud supporter of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers and am pleased to be one of its only approved attorneys in Tarrant County.
Here are more frightening statistics about drunk driving collisions:
Alcohol-fueled injuries hurt almost 17,000 people in 2012;
There were over 25,000 alcohol-related crashes were over 25,000 that year;
Last year in Tarrant and Dallas Counties, 121 people were killed and 1,261 others were seriously injured by DWI drivers;
Over 90,000 people were arrested for DWIs in 2012; and
This costs Texas taxpayers over $6 billion per year.
We Can Help
I’ve been representing injured Texans for over 34 years. My principal office is Fort Worth, but I have branch offices throughout the Metroplex and one in Houston. I only represent people who have been injured by accidents involving cars, trucks, 18 wheelers, bicycles and motorcycles — often those who have been hit by drivers who are DWI.
If you want an experienced Board Certified Fort Worth personal injury attorney who will provide you with compassionate legal representation, contact my office today to schedule a free initial consultation.
Related stories:
Watch Out For This While Driving In The Next Week
Teenager’s Sentence In Fatal Drunken Driving Case Xtirs Affluenza Debate – New York Times article about Ethan Couch case