Most Hit & Run Drivers Are Intoxicated

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney, no matter how much care we put into our driving there are always those people out there who should never be allowed behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. Reference a Hit & Run case out of Murfreesboro, Tennessee last weekend in which the victim was sitting at a stop light on Middle Tennessee Blvd. when a drunk driver slammed into her driver side door and rolled her car on it’s side. The driver fled the scene.

Witnesses reported a description of the vehicle to the authorities and yesterday Rutherford County Sheriff Department officers arrested Kyle Hendrix who admitted that he was involved in the crash and investigators believe he was intoxicated at the time.

Hit & Run drivers are, in my consideration, the worst kind of human being. Most H&R drivers are under the influence of alcohol, others have already run afoul of the law and have lost their driving privileges, yet they continue to get behind the wheel and ignore the rules.

Many H&R drivers are trying to avoid detection because they don’t have insurance and they don’t want to face the responsibility for their actions. No matter which category they fall into they are the very worst type of person, someone who will leave an injured or dying pedestrian lying in the street.

If you are the victim of a Nashville or Tennessee automobile accident we urge you to contact our Tennessee accident attorneys today for a free consultation. When you hire an auto accident attorney from Phillip Miller & Associates, you’re getting a qualified and dedicated lawyer. Details about our attorneys and staff can be found by viewing our website at www.seriousinjury.com where you can get to know the men and women who will be looking out for your best interest.

DUI Police Officer

From the point of view of an experienced Nashville auto accident lawyer it would seem intuitive that a police officer who is involved in an accident would know better than to leave the scene of an accident, even if it was only a fender bender. But when the officer is driving under the influence of alcohol, all bets are off.

Reference a case this week in which a Chattanooga PD officer bumped into another car, identified himself as a police officer and then left the scene. When police found him at his residence he denied that he hit the car but said he had a conversation with the other driver at the scene. He failed field sobriety tests and was freed from jail on bond pending his first court hearing.

Drinking and driving do not ever mix. Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes. In Tennessee in 2008, 327 people were killed in crashes where the driver or motorcyclist had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. That is down from 377 people killed in 2007 with a BAC of .08 or higher. Over the 2008 Labor Day holiday, 12 people were killed in 10 fatal crashes on Tennessee roadways, down from 17 people killed on Tennessee roadways in 2007.

As an experienced Nashville car accident lawyer I want to remind you that driving with a BAC of .08 or higher is illegal in every state. If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee auto accident caused by a drunk driver you owe it to yourself to take advantage of a free consultation with an experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyer at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights.

Driving Under The Influence

Knox County Tennessee Assistant District Attorney Kevin Allen posted $5,000 bond and was released from the Anderson County, Tennessee jail after his arrest for Driving Under The Influence and violation of the state Implied Consent Act. As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney I can tell you that in my experience Tennessee law enforcement authorities don’t play favorites when it comes to drinking and driving.

Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes. Here in Tennessee in 2008, 327 people were killed in crashes where the driver or motorcyclist had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. That is down from 377 people killed in 2007 with a BAC of .08 or higher.

On average, a human being is killed by a drunk driver every 45 minutes. In 2008, an estimated 11,773 people died in drunk driving related crashs a decline of 9.8 percent from the 13,041 drunk driving related fatalities of 2007.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident by a drunk driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation so that you can get a complete picture of your rights and remedies.

Booze It And Lose It

An underage drinking driver, high speed, and early morning hours make for a deadly cocktail that cost the life of an Antioch man and will bring criminal charges against his cousin, the driver of the vehicle. According to an article posted on the website of Nashville NewsChannel5 Miguel Crispin-Reyes, 19, was driving at a high rate of speed with his cousin Ancelmo Crispin-Herrera,21, riding in the front seat with him when he, for some unknown reason, left the road and rolled. Mr. Crispin-Herrera was trapped in the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene. Mr. Crispin-Reyes is listed in stable condition at Vanderbilt Medical Center.

Such a tragedy, how sad that one poor decision has changed the lives of two young men and their family forever. My sympathy and prayers go out to them.

As an experienced Nashville car accident lawyer I want to remind you that driving with a BAC of .08 or higher is illegal in every state. If you follow my blog you will see that in Tennessee we continue to see a tragic number of people with debilitating injuries and deaths as a result of impaired driving. This careless disregard for human life must stop

Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes. In Tennessee in 2008, 327 people were killed in crashes where the driver or motorcyclist had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. That is down from 377 people killed in 2007 with a BAC of .08 or higher. Over the 2008 Labor Day holiday, 12 people were killed in 10 fatal crashes on Tennessee roadways, down from 17 people killed on Tennessee roadways in 2007.

With the winter holidays approaching we must redouble out efforts and be vigilant in reminding our family and friends of the dangers and the high price, not just the driver, but his passengers and families pay as the result of an automobile accident. If you see a driver who appears to be drunk dial *847 and report them to the Tennessee State Troopers.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Nashville automobile accident contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates for a free consultation so that you can learn about your rights and remedies.

Child Safety Seats Work

The Kingsport Times-News reported that a fast moving sedan slammed into the rear end of a parked van containing five small children and three adults. Miraculously none of the children were hurt, but the van’s driver and two other passengers were transported to the hospital. The sedan driver was uninjured but was cited failure to yield and failure to have automobile insurance.

The report went on to say that, “Rescue workers severed the middle post connected to the passenger door panel while getting one hurt passenger out of the van. The authorities did not release the names of any of the victims. According to the reporter, the children were crying and as they were being ushered to the side of the road, one little girl yelled, “I love you, Daddy” while one passenger was placed on a stretcher.

The staff here at Phillip Miller & Associates sends our deepest condolences to the family along with our great relief that none of the children were injured. It appears that the thoughtful parents had these kids safely secured in their car seats.

Driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes and near-crashes, according to a landmark research report released today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). Nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event. Primary causes of driver inattention are distracting activities, such as cell phone use, and drowsiness.

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney I look at this situation and ask myself why it is that a fast moving car rams into the rear-end of a van parked along a city street at 9:30 in the morning. It’s improbable that the car driver intended to ram the van so there must have been either a medical emergency or another type of distraction that caused the driver to take his eyes off the road. In that the driver was ticketed at the scene and not taken for medical treatment, nor was he arrested for driving under the influence it appears that the investigating authorities will focus on what distracted the driver. A good starting point is to examine the driver’s cell phone and determine whether he was making or taking a call. I will follow this accident and let you know what the investigators find out.

If you or a loved one is injured by a distracted motorist contact the experienced Tennessee automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates immediately to find out about your rights and remedies.