Novato Man Sentenced in Fatal Drunk Driving Accident That Killed Nine-year-old Girl

A Novato man was sentenced to 24 years in prison to life for causing a fatal driving accident in 2009.  The accident killed a nine-year-old girl and left her father seriously injured.

The victim Melody Osheroff was nine years old at the time of the accident.  In May 2009, Edward Schafer was on his motorcycle when he struck Melody and her father as they walked on a crosswalk in Novato.  Schafer had been speeding on his motorcycle at more than 60 mph at the time.  Melody suffered serious injuries, and died the next day in the hospital.  Her father suffered serious leg injuries, and had to have one of his legs amputated.  He almost lost the other leg too.

Schafer had been riding his motorcycle under the influence.  He was charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, second-degree murder, driving with a blood alcohol level over the legal limit, and DUI causing great bodily injury and mayhem.  A judge in the Marin Superior Court has now sentenced him to the maximum sentence of 24 years to life in prison

Schafer spent much time during the sentencing hearing expressing his remorse at Melody’s death and his actions on that day.  However, the judge wasn’t taken in, especially since it doesn’t seem like Schafer has ever come out to apologize to the family for the loss he has caused them.

Whether you’re driving a car, or riding a motorcycle or bicycle, doing so under the influence of alcohol or drugs is the single most dangerous thing you could do.  It’s not only a major risk to your safety to be operating a car or any other vehicle under the influence, but it is also a major risk to other people who may be on the streets with you.  On an average, drunk driving accidents kill approximately 1000 people in California every year.  Although those numbers have declined significantly over the past decade, there are still too many alcohol-related car accidents for California car accident lawyers to be complacent about this menace.

California drunk driving laws allow victims of drunk driving accidents, to not only hold the intoxicated motorist in the accident responsible for injuries or fatalities caused, but also to allow drinking establishments to be named under the state’s dram shop laws.  The most obvious defendant in a civil lawsuit arising out of a California drunk driving accident is the intoxicated motorist, but under dram shop laws, you can also hold the drinking establishment that serves the motorist alcohol.    That isn’t as easy as it sounds.  It’s important to prove that the establishment in question be it a bar, restaurant, or pub, served the motorist alcohol, even though he was obviously intoxicated.

California has also been one of the states leading the field in tougher laws against drunk driving in the country.  For instance, the state currently has a pilot program in place in Alameda, Tulare, Sacramento and Los Angeles counties that requires first-time drunk driving offenders to have ignition interlock devices installed in all their vehicles.  The program is likely to be extended across the state if it is successful.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of drunk driving accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.