If you drive north of Milwaukee for about 125 miles, you will arrive in Lawrence in Brown County. The town of fewer than 5,000 residents was recently the site of a fatal motor vehicle crash on Interstate 41. According to a Milwaukee news report, the 27-year-old Appleton man told police officers that he had been driving the Jeep Grand Cherokee because he was the “most sober.”
A female passenger in the Jeep was killed in the 6 a.m. crash in which the vehicle reportedly rolled over seven times.
Four others in the Jeep were injured, including one who was hospitalized at a facility near the crash site after apparently sustaining a fractured spine. The news report stated that the passenger might be paralyzed as a result. Another passenger was in a coma and was transported to Milwaukee.
The driver has been charged with homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle and three counts of causing injury by intoxicated use of a vehicle.
No blood test was taken by emergency responders because of the driver’s injuries, but he did admit to drinking beer and cognac at a party. Law enforcement officers said there was a “strong odor” of alcohol from the driver.
It is hard to believe that there are still people who don’t understand the dangers of drunk driving – and still people who know the dangers and simply ignore them in search of a good time.
Effects of alcohol
The effects of alcohol on the minds and bodies of drivers all increase the likelihood of a violent car accident in which innocent people will suffer severe injuries or even death. Let’s take a quick look at those effects:
- Reaction times are slowed by alcohol, affecting how quickly drivers can respond to both ordinary driving situations and emergencies such as sudden braking by a vehicle ahead or a pedestrian stepping out into the street.
- Motor skills deteriorate, eroding coordination between the driver’s eyes, hands and feet. That diminished coordination results in impaired drivers swaying and stumbling and struggling to stand straight when they get out of their vehicles.
- Concentration erodes with the first sip of alcohol and gets worse the more a person drinks. The effects of diminished concentration in a driver are obvious: they often struggle to maintain their lane, maintain their speed, keep a safe distance from other vehicles, recognize and respond to traffic signals and so on.
- Decreased vision in impaired drivers often means that objects become blurry and that they struggle to accurately judge distances between vehicles.
Obviously, all of these effects are profoundly negative and dramatically increase the risks of accidents.
If you or someone you love has been hurt in a collision caused by a drunk driver, contact a Milwaukee attorney experienced in personal injury litigation across Wisconsin.
