A Saturday evening accident shut the entire Rickenbacker Causeway down, closing the route to and from Key Biscayne, Florida, for nearly eight hours. Many motorists were trapped in their cars until 4 a.m. on Nov. 4. A drunk driver was to blame.
Even worse, the accident caused by the drunk driver claimed the life of a mother of two after she was impaled right in front of her husband and children by the fence post from a chain fence.
According to the report, a 23-year-old woman rear-ended another car as she was leaving work. She hit the other car with so much force that her own car bounced across the median in the road and stuck the chain link fence. The woman who was impaled by the fence post was just driving her own car and happened to be in the wrong spot.
Even though the 23-year-old was supposed to be heading home from work, her blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was later determined to be twice the legal limit for drunk driving. Rescuers tried to save the impaled victim, even airlifting her to Ryder’s Trauma Center for surgery. Unfortunately, she died in surgery. Her husband was also injured but has been since released from the hospital.
The drunk driver has been charged with DUI (driving under impairment by drugs or alcohol) causing serious bodily injury and DUI manslaughter. A family member of the defendant inflamed the court, however, by trying to assert that the deceased was partially responsible for her own death, saying, “The other person unfortunately was not wearing their seat belt and it’s why she succumbed to her injuries.”
The victim’s family members and the prosecutor deny that it is true, but these kinds of incidents are a reminder that people often try very hard to shift the blame for their bad choices onto others. The victims of serious or fatal car injuries deserve representation that will protect their reputation and interests.