When it comes to fatal car, truck and motorcycle accidents, it’s a said commentary when the signs point to drinking and driving as one of the possible causes. There is no winner when a driver takes his or her own life in a senseless roadway collision, much less the lives of the passengers as well.
As Baltimore car and trucking accident attorneys, I and my legal staff find it difficult to reconcile the possibly thoughtless act of driving while intoxicated with the deaths of innocent individuals. Whatever the reason, a preventable car accident — fatal or otherwise — is a tragedy. As occupants in another person’s vehicle, we as passengers assume a fair amount of risk. Trust is a precious commodity; sometimes one that is spent all too quickly on the wrong person.
As personal injury lawyers in Maryland, we see numerous stories of men, women and children who are injured or killed in traffic accidents that might have been avoided had a passenger spoken up or the driver exercised some discretion. Driving under the influence of alcohol is not only illegal, it is dangerous and can be life-altering. For those who survive a car or truck crash, whether here in Maryland or over in Washington, D.C., the road to recovery can be long and hard.
Aside from the usual cuts and deep-tissue bruising, victims of auto wrecks can suffer broken bones, internal injuries and closed-head trauma as a result. Traumatic brain injury and spinal cord damage are a couple of the more serious and long-term injuries that can lay a person up for months, with years of recuperation ahead for some just to get back to some sense of a normal life before the accident.
For those who are killed outright, there are no days or weeks in the hospital; only misery and potential hardship for their families and loved ones. We were reminded of this kind of scenario just the other day when we came across a news article about two Mechanicsville, MD, residents who died in what police believe was an alcohol-related fatal car crash in Leonardtown.
According to news reports, the single-car wreck happened late on a Tuesday afternoon along a stretch of Maypole Rd. Based on police reports, a call came in a little after 4pm describing a bad vehicle accident where the victims were trapped in the car. Emergency responders arriving on the scene found the vehicle on fire. Officers were apparently able to quell the flames, however the 45-year-old driver, David Quade was pronounced dead at the scene.
The vehicle’s passenger, 52-year-old Joseph Morgan, survived the initial crash but was trapped in the vehicle. After firefighters extricated the man, he was taken by chopper to Baltimore Shock Trauma. However, doctors could not save the victim and he died a short time after being admitted to the emergency room.
Sadly, the second victim lost his life in a single-vehicle accident that possibly could have been prevented. It is scenarios such as this one that should serve as a reminder to everyone that life is too fleeting to rely on the potentially faulty judgment of another driver; and a message to those who choose to drink and drive that there are few second chances when it comes to mixing alcohol and cars.
Police Believe Speed and Alcohol Contributed to Fatal in Leonardtown, SoMd.com, March 01, 2012