Ohio residents might find it difficult to find anyone who does not know that driving under the influence is not only against the law, but dangerous as well. Even so, far too many people continue to drive drunk and place the lives of innocent people in jeopardy. For this reason, families continue to lose loved ones to alcohol-related car accidents.
On a recent Saturday, yet another family lost a loved one in a crash that police suspect involved alcohol. Preliminary reports indicate that a 42-year-old driver and his passenger traveled westbound on Interstate 80. At around 1:45 a.m., the pair encountered a vehicle coming at them in the opposite direction.
The wreckage of the resulting head-on collision came to rest there in the westbound lanes. Both the westbound driver and the 50-year-old wrong-way driver from Maryland died as a result of the injuries they suffered in the impact. Amazingly, the passenger in the westbound vehicle survived the crash with only minor injuries. If the investigation reveals that alcohol was a factor, the surviving family members of the westbound driver could make use of that fact.
Ohio families who have lost members in fatal car accidents have the right to file wrongful death claims against the parties deemed at fault. Proving fault requires providing a civil court with evidence, and if alcohol factored into a crash, that fact could help provide the evidence needed. A successful claim could result in monetary damages and a sense of closure and justice that a family may not otherwise find.
