Alcohol and drug use is a major cause of fatal car accidents across the United States. Last month, an assistant college baseball coach was charged with multiple DUI offenses after a crash in Anderson, South Carolina that left three people dead.
According to Lt. Mike Aikens, with the Anderson Police Department, Riley Christopher McDermott, 24, was driving a vehicle that crossed a centerline earlier this month and crashed head-on into a car at the intersection of East Calhoun Street and U.S. Highway 29, also known as Boulevard Street.
Alcohol and speed are a deadly combination. Police have accused McDermott of taking a curve at more than 70 miles per hour when the crash occurred. The media reported the names of those who died as Jessica Roberts, 20, 17-year-old Amber Hope Perkins, and Cory Simmonds, 22.
As well as those who lost their lives, Jessica Roberts' 17-year-old sister, Samantha, was reported to be injured and was treated at a local hospital. Her condition was upgraded from serious to fair a few days after the accident.
Amber Perkins' 12-year-old sister, Cheyenne, was also hospitalized after the crash. Shore said his deputy coroner saved her life by performing a tracheotomy on Cheyenne shortly before she could get to the hospital. She was described as being in a critical condition.
McDermott was hit with six felony DUI charges. Three of the felony charges were DUI resulting in death. The other three charges are felony DUI resulting in great bodily harm.
Investigators said the driver was under the influence of alcohol at the time. Blood samples taken at the scene were sent to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol accident reconstruction team was called in to assist Anderson police with the investigation.
McDermott attended Anderson University. He worked as an assistant coach of the baseball team for more than two years since graduating, but his name was removed from the roster after the accident.
Every year thousands of people are killed on the roads of the United States due to alcohol or drugs. Figures for 2012, found 33,561 people died in traffic crashes in the United States, including an estimated 10,322 people who died in drunk driving crashes, accounting for almost a third of fatal crashes - 31 per cent of all traffic deaths that year.
Since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began recording alcohol-related statistics in 1982, drunk driving fatalities have decreased 51 percent from 21,113.
If you lose a loved one due to the actions of a drunk driver in South Carolina, you will have grounds to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Our Columbia car accident injury lawyers have represented many people who have suffered serious injuries in car wrecks and the families of those who have lost loved ones. Call us at 803.748.9990.