Personal Injury Blog

Petaluma Teenager Faces Manslaughter Charges After Car Accident

January 22nd, 2009

A 17-year-old boy from Petaluma is facing charges of manslaughter and driving under the influence after a drunk driving and speeding-related accident that killed one of his passengers.

The teenager, who has not been identified because he is a minor, was driving a Toyota Tundra, with two passengers, 18-year-old Kristina Bricker and 19-year-old Ryan Snow. The driver was speeding at about 70 miles per hour, and failed to stop at stop sign. He lost control of the car when he drove off the side of the road and crashed into a power pole. The car overturned several times before coming to a stop. Bricker was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from her seat. She was taken to the hospital where she died from injuries sustained in the car accident. Snow suffered minor injuries in the accident. The driver of the car suffered a bump on the head. He was given a field sobriety test and arrested for DUI and manslaughter.

The accident, officers say, seems to have been caused by a deadly combination of speed and alcohol. The three friends were apparently returning from a party that had begun at midnight and lasted until 2 am. Officers say more could be in store for the drunk driver.

Driving drunk is a bad idea in itself, but add speeding to the mix and you have a sure-fire recipe for a serious and fatality causing accident. Law enforcement officers and car accident lawyers who frequently see the results that speed and alcohol can have on a driver’s judgment and ability to take reflexive and quick decisions, will tell you that a combination of both factors can cause deadly consequences. The kind of injuries that can result from a devastating accident like this can include head and brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations, severed limbs, as well as other catastrophic injuries.

This accident also reminds us of how important it is to belt up when you’re in a car. Bricker might have had a chance at survival if she had been wearing her seat belt. In the absence of seat belt restraints, she was thrown out of the car when it overturned leaving her with devastating fatal injuries. Both Snow and the driver of the car were wearing seatbelts and escaped with minor injuries.

The young people here seem to have broken just about every rule of safe driving out there – not drinking, staying within the speed limit, and always wearing a seat belt.

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 accident. 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.

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