Another Crash And DWI Death Reported Today
Not to be a Grinch, but it was just announced that Dallas leads all large Texas counties for the number of DWI death crashes. Every drunk driving case is 100% preventable, so this statistic is even worse.
And Tarrant County and other Metroplex counties are not far behind. DFW is unfortunately a very dangerous place to drive.
Earlier this month in Bedford, a man struck and killed a woman standing outside her disabled car on Highway 183 at 3:00 a.m. and fled the scene. Today he was arrested for DWI manslaughter.
Thank you to the Dallas Morning News for its article today reminding drivers to be on constant alert for one of these crashes. It described a heart-breaking collision that sadly took the lives of two people earlier this year.
A woman had been out late partying with her friends and was driving almost 100 miles per hour in a 50 MPH zone in south Dallas. Another vehicle was turning left at a light when the woman’s car slammed into it.
That took the life of a father in the turning car and a young mother in the drunk driver’s. Three other people were injured, two critically.
Blood tests showed that the intoxicated driver was well over the legal rate for alcohol of .08% and had also been consuming marijuana. She is serving a 20-year sentence. But that won’t begin to help the injured or the deceased and their families.
What is being done to stop DWI death crashes?
The article points out that the Dallas County District Attorney finally formed a task force to try to reduce these from happening. But one of its two attorneys has over 100 cases similar to this one.
You might think that leaders would devote more law enforcement and legal teams to curtail them. But Dallas County refused to give the task force more resources to prosecute these criminals.
Statistics reveal the high number of DWI death crashes we have here. Last year, close to 1,100 people were killed in these often high-speed collisions.
This is despite the no-refusal weekends cracking down on drunk driving we have had here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for years.
The criminal penalties for DWI are stiff. If someone is convicted for their first offense, they can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $2,000 in addition to other repercussions.
We can help you
With an arctic front expected to hit our area in a few days, this potential problem is compounded. We will give some tips on driving on bad roads tomorrow. Please be extra careful as you drive during the holidays, especially late at night and on highways.
Drive safely and happy holidays!