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Drunk Driving Accident Raleigh, N.C. October 30, 2004 6 People Killed |
| Six people died at an intersection near the North Carolina State Fairgrounds. A green Chevy Blazer ran a stop sign and struck another Blazer at the intersection of Nowell and Chapel Hill around 9 p.m. No one was killed. But then, some pedestrians who were on the shoulder came onto the road to help the people exiting their vehicles. That's when a white van traveling toward Raleigh struck one of the Blazers and the "Good Samaritans". The Driver is charged with six counts of involuntary manslaughter and DWI. Troopers called the crash at N.C. 54 and Nowell Road the Triangle's worst in years. Five people were killed at the intersection, their bodies strewn across the road. A sixth died on the way to the hospital. |
| Church Bus Accident Carrollton, Kentucky May 14, 1988 27 people Killed, 34 Injured About 10:55 p.m. eastern daylight time on May 14, 1988, a pickup truck traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of Interstate 71 struck head-on a church activity bus traveling southbound in the left lane of the highway near Carrollton, Kentucky. As the pickup truck rotated during impact, it struck a passenger car traveling southbound in the right lane near the church bus. The church bus fuel tank was punctured during the collision sequence, and a fire ensued, engulfing the entire bus. The bus driver and 26 bus passengers were fatally injured. Thirty-four bus passengers sustained minor to critical injuries, and six bus passengers were not injured. The pickup truck driver sustained serious injuries, but neither occupant of the passenger car was injured. The drunk driver, was released from a Kentucky prison in 1999. |
| Some Cold, Hard Facts About Drinking and Driving Although alcohol-related traffic fatalities have been on the decline in recent years, the certainty of highway deaths due to alcohol impaired drivers is so predictable each holiday period many state highway patrol departments each year issue highway fatality "projections" that will turn out to be uncanningly accurate. In spite of all the warnings, public awareness and educational programs, stiffer penalties for violations, and efforts by law enforcement agencies across the nation to be more visible and diligent in protecting the highways, people will still make the decision to get behind the wheel of their vehicles while intoxicated. The sad fact is motor vehicle wrecks are the leading cause of death in the United States for persons under age 34, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those deaths, more than 40 percent are alcohol-related. Alcohol-related accidents are so prevalent, it is estimated that 40 percent of all persons in the United States will be involved in a traffic mishap blamed on alcohol at some point in their lives. Forty percent! How dangerous is drinking and driving? A driver with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.10 or greater is seven times more likely to be involved in a fatal motor vehicle crash than is a driver who has not consumed alcoholic beverages, and a driver with an alcohol concentration of 0.15 or greater is about 25 times more likely. Cold, Hard Facts! Basically, the more you drink the more likely you are to have an accident, and a fatal one. The same applies for the likelihood of having any vehicle accident, fatal or otherwise. Here's the cold hard facts: A 160-pound person drinking two beers within an hour would probably have a BAC of 0.04, well below the legal limits of driving under the influence, but 1.4 times more likely to have an accident than someone who is sober. Two more beers? The likelihood of an accident goes up almost tenfold to 11 times more likely that the non-drinking driver. As the amount of alcohol in the driver's system rises mathematically on the BAC scale, the likelihood of a traffic accident multiples! Two more beers? Up to a six-pack now? The likelihood of having an accident is now 48 times higher than the abstainer and the driver has just now reached the 0.10 BAC level. Two more? Hey, you've already had a six pack, two more couldn't hurt, right? Except two more beers could put your BAC close to 0.15 at which point you are 380 times more likely to have an accident. Play it smart during weekend and holidays. If you plan to party away from home -- and this includes on the water -- be sure to appoint a designated driver for the car or operator for the boat. What ever you do, don't get behind the wheel if you've been drinking! |
