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Two Injured in Suspected DUI Accident in Long Beach

A <strong>suspected DUI</strong> driver may be to blame for a multi-vehicle accident on the Long Beach Freeway that left two people injured last week.  The California Highway Patrol believes the accident was caused by an intoxicated driver.

The accident involved a total of four vehicles.  Police say that the suspected DUI driver was traveling northbound on the southbound lanes.  They believe the drunk motorist was driving a van which entered the freeway from an exit ramp, and began traveling in the opposite direction in the southbound lanes.  The man’s vehicle struck an SUV, and the impact of the accident caused the SUV to spin out of control and strike two other vehicles.  The driver of the van and the SUV were both seriously injured, and had to be extricated from the wreckage.  There were two other people who were also involved in the accident and suffered minor injuries.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the driver of the van was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.

Intoxicated driving is a major factor in the hundreds of wrong way driving accidents that occur every year.  It is extremely fortunate that this particular wrong way driving accident had no fatalities.  Typically, accidents involving a motorist traveling the wrong way on a busy highway or freeway can be extremely devastating, with serious consequences.  Deaths often result in such accidents, and injuries tend to be extremely severe.

Wrong way driving accidents are typically high impact accidents, because they involve vehicles in a head-on collision, traveling at highway speeds.  In most accidents where the driver is traveling in the opposite direction, the other motorist may not have enough time to notice that the driver is headed in his direction, and avoid the motorist.  The resulting crash often results in catastrophic and fatal injuries.

Intoxicated driving is one of the main reasons why a driver could end up driving on the opposite side of the highway.  Drunk driving can impact a person’s judgment, and can cause them to make serious driving errors.  Besides, your vision is impacted when you’re driving in an intoxicated state, and this may cause you to miss highway signs that can point you to the right direction.  Even a single missed sign can have you driving at high speeds in the opposite direction, increasing the risks of a head-on collision.  Head on collisions are some of the most serious of accidents, and these frequently result from wrong way driving.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, every year about 300 people die in accidents related to driving the wrong way.  Although alcohol is the main factor in most of these accidents, sometimes these accidents occur when the motorist is driving in a new neighborhood and makes a driving error.  California car accident lawyers are also increasingly coming across wrong way driving accidents caused by distractions.  When you’re engrossed in a cell phone conversation, it can be easy to miss a highway sign, causing a potentially fatal accident.

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 http://www.robertreeveslaw.com/. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us at contact@robertreeveslaw.com.

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

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