When most people picture an intoxicated driver being involved in a crash, that person’s vehicle is a car, SUV or some other vehicle with four wheels or more. However, many Missouri drunk driving accidents involve two-wheeled vehicles, such as motorcycles, mopeds or motor scooters. The damage done in these crashes can be just as serious or deadly.
For instance, police were called to the scene of a crash between a pickup truck and a motor scooter at approximately 9:40 p.m. on Jan. 31. The smaller vehicle was struck from behind by a pickup truck. It may surprise some readers that it was not the driver of the pickup who was believed to be criminally responsible for the accident.
A witness statement claimed that neither the tail light nor the head light was working on the motor scooter. In fact, the driver was using a flashlight to see. Police also determined that the scooter’s driver was impaired at the time of the accident. A breath test done at the scene indicated the man’s blood alcohol content to be .194, which is well above the .08 legal intoxication limit in Missouri.
Unfortunately, the scooter driver had a passenger. When the pickup struck the scooter, the 54-year-old woman’s head slammed into the truck, and she succumbed to her injuries at the hospital. Recently, authorities charged the 53-year-old man driving the scooter that night with involuntary manslaughter and driving without a valid license.
The victim’s family may also file a wrongful death claim against the party or parties deemed responsible for the loss of their loved one. If one or more parties is found by the court to have caused or contributed to her death, her family may be awarded damages often seen in drunk driving accidents. A monetary judgment will not bring her back to her family, but it may help them with the financial losses sustained due to her premature demise.
Source: news-leader.com, “Man charged with manslaughter in fatal scooter crash“, Harrison Keegan, April 29, 2015
