A pair of Massachusetts drunk driving accidents damaged a cemetery and a gas station over the weekend. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured in the crashes. Too often, these types of senseless accidents result in the serious injury or death of other motorists on the road.
As our Boston accident lawyers continue to report, crashes involving drunk drivers are responsible for about one-third of all fatal accidents on the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that a drunk driving fatality occurs every 45 minutes. In 2008, a total of 11,773 drunk driving fatalities were report on the nation’s roads. Alcohol was involved in 4 of every 10 fatal Massachusetts car accidents – or 151 of 363 deadly crashes that occurred in the state in 2008.
In these cases, nothing but property was in the way of the drunk drivers, leading to crashes that made news for being unusual, instead of tragic.
Shortly before 4 a.m. Saturday, a 22-year-old woman driving northbound on Route Six crashed through a fence and landed in a Cape Cod cemetery, ABC5 reported. She struck nine headstones before coming to a stop inside Duck Creek Cemetery. She was placed under arrest on a charge of operating under the influence of alcohol.
In a separate incident, the MetroWest Daily News reported that a 23-year-old New Hampshire man crashed his Audi into a gas station in Sudbury.
That crash occurred shortly before 6 a.m. Sunday at the Sudbury Automotive on Boston Post Road. An officer happened to drive by the station and spotted the driver standing outside the vehicle, which had penetrated the side of the building. The driver was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and failure to stay within marked lanes.
The gas station and repair shop was closed at the time. The owner said the vehicle was stopped by a pair of vending machines but that the crash sprayed Pepsi, Coke and loose change all over the property.
If you are involved in an accident with a drunk driving anywhere in Massachusetts, contact Boston Injury Lawyer Jeffrey S. Glassman for a free and confidential appointment to discuss your rights. Call 877-617-5333.