Lately it seems there have been several drunk driving fatality cases being reported in the Sacramento area. Scanning just one day’s headlines I encountered two stories surrounding such incidents.
The first case involves an accident that just happened over the past weekend. Matthew Smith was driving his pickup truck with a friend in the passenger seat. He was speeding when he careened off the road, hitting a tree.
The hit caused significant damage to the right side of the pickup and the impact caused the passenger, 27 year old Matthew Hays of Chico to be ejected. Hays died at the scene of the accident. Matthew Smith now faces charges of DUI and gross vehicular manslaughter.
The second case actually involves an accident that occurred last year. The suspect has pled guilty to several charges and is now awaiting sentencing.
On December 20th, 2008 20 year old Brandon Moreno of Rolesville was driving in a vehicle with 3 passengers. He lost control, left the road, and also hit a tree. One passenger of the vehicle was killed and another injured as a result.
Moreno pled guilty to DUI and manslaughter. He now awaits sentencing and the Sacramento Bee reports his sentence could be as many as 20 years in prison.
Getting behind the wheel when you are intoxicated is a bad idea. Everyone knows it is against the law yet many of us make that mistake.
However, everyone arrested for DUI is not guilty. Police aggressively patrol and arrest people when the evidence of drunk driving isn’t very strong. Whatever happened to lead to an arrest, when you are facing DUI charges you need the assistance of an experienced DUI attorney.
DUI cases involving injury or death are very rare. In most cases no one is ultimately harmed if someone is pulled over after having too much to drink.
Whether you are innocent of the charge, or are prepared to admit a mistake, we can word to come up with a solution to your case that will leave everyone satisfied. And we are always prepared to fight to get the charges dropped if we think there’s a good chance to beat your case.
As your attorney, it would be my job to ensure that your case was handled correctly from the second you saw those flashing lights in your rear view mirror. Call me today so we can discuss the details of your case.