DUI crashes typically spike in the summer in Georgia when more people are outside drinking alcohol.
Sadly, this can exact a terrible toll in terms of lives and injuries to other drivers and passengers.
Recently, two sisters sustained serious injuries in Columbia County in a car wreck, according to WRDW-TV. The women who was driving the car with the kids inside is accused of turning in front of a pickup truck.
Six children were traveling in a Honda Accord when it was involved in a collision on June 2.
DUI crashes in Georgia claim many lives
The crash left two of the children in a critical condition. A week after the crash, the conditions of the children were upgraded from critical to fair.
The severely injured children aged 11 and 6 were treated at Augusta University Medical Center.
The six-year-old suffered injuries to her lungs. She was reported to be suffering from C Diff, a bacteria in her colon which may be linked to the three different antibiotics she is on. She underwent spinal surgery while the 11-year-old is reported to be breathing more easily.
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for 46-year-old Tara Christine McConnell, who was the driver in the serious crash involving six kids who were unrestrained in McConnell’s 1993 Honda Accord.
Media reports said McConnell, 46, who is not the mother of the injured children, is charged with DUI, reckless driving, failure to yield, six counts of failure to restrain children, six counts of DUI child endangerment, and six counts of serious injury by vehicle.
Major Steve Morris of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office said McConnell’s blood alcohol level was .451. The legal limit in Georgia is .08.
Drunk driving remains a major problem in Georgia, even though the state has seen a steady fall in DUI arrests.
An article in 2015 in Georgia Health News noted DUI convictions in Georgia fell dramatically over a five-year period, state figures show.
The reasons for the decline are far from clear. However, experts note the decrease in convictions coincided with a rise in the number of people refusing to take a field sobriety test.
State Department of Driver Services figures, presented to lawmakers in Georgia in 2014, showed a downward trend. There were 44,017 DUI convictions in 2008 falling to 32,514 in 2013.
If you have been hurt by a drunk driver, you may have grounds to file a lawsuit. Call the Law Offices of Michael West at (404) 913-1529.