Drunk Drivers Can Also be Police Officers

Austin, TX (Law Firm Newswire) June 19, 2014 – Most people think of drunk drivers as being average citizens weaving in and out of traffic or oblivious of where they are going. Drunk drivers may also be law enforcement personnel.

Just because police officers are sworn to uphold the laws does not mean that some do not cross the line and break those same laws. That is what happened in this tragic case where a drunk New Jersey officer killed another officer and critically injured a third colleague. Twenty-seven year old Pedro Abad Jr. was behind the wheel driving with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .24, three times the legal limit.

Abad was speeding the wrong way on the West Shore Expressway. He was driving two fellow officers and a friend home after a night out at a strip club. Driving on the wrong side of the expressway, Abad rammed into a tractor-trailer. After the deadly wreck, officers asked for and obtained a warrant to test the driver. “If this can happen in New Jersey, it can happen in Texas,” says drunk driving attorney Bobby Lee, of Austin’s Lee, Gober & Reyna, not involved in this case.

Social media is a good way to stay in touch with friends, but it may also be used as evidence in criminal cases and car crashes. Earlier in the evening of the day of the crash, Abad uploaded a picture to his Instagram account of three glasses of Jack Daniels. His driving record revealed two arrests for drunk driving in the past four years and that he had been involved in at least eight accidents since 2005. “What is a mystery is why two other officers and a friend were riding with Abad given his significant state of intoxication,” adds Lee.

The difficulty with drunk driving cases lies in the perception that those riding in a vehicle with a drunk driver, whether they are also drunk or not, made a choice and in making that choice, were authors of their own misfortune.

This is rarely a bar to taking such a case to court, as the driver clearly demonstrated negligence by driving while inebriated. As for a passenger or passengers making the decision to ride with that drunk driver, there may have been pressing necessity at play. “Riders may have had no other way to get home, did not think the driver was ‘that bad,’ thought it would be just a quick trip or gave in to friends razzing them. Most of the culpability for an accident rests with the intoxicated driver,” Lee points out.

Contacting an experienced personal injury attorney who handles plaintiff’s injuries as a result of being involved in an accident with a drunk driver is crucial to obtain justice and compensation.

To learn more, visit http://www.lgrlawfirm.com Lee, Gober & Reyna 11940 Jollyville Road #220-S Austin, Texas 78759 Phone: 512.478.8080