Birthdays are usually a time of celebration, but occasionally celebration turns into tragedy. These tragedies are often caused by excessive consumption of alcohol, as sadly demonstrated by a recent collision that killed a Brooklyn woman who was celebrating her 21st birthday. The accident is alleged to have been caused by drunk driving.
After attending a show in New York City and having dinner with her parents, the young woman was traveling with friends across the Williamsburg Bridge at about 3:15 a.m. The driver lost control of the vehicle and hit a divider. The impact tore the car in half and caused the birthday celebrant, who was riding in the rear seat, to be ejected. The impact killed her. Ironically, both of the men in the front seat were NYPDtraffic agents. The two men were taken to Bellevue Hospital, where they were determined to be in stable condition. The passenger was said to have been dating the victim of the crash.
The driver was alleged to be intoxicated, and he was charged with multiple offenses, including drunk driving, vehicular manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. He was scheduled to be arraigned on the criminal charges in a few days. People who knew the defendant were puzzled and surprised by the incident. One acquaintance said that the young man never did stupid things.
The defendant in this case faces very serious criminal charges, but like all defendants, he is entitled to be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Anyone facing similar charges may wish to consult an experienced criminal defense attorney for an evaluation of the law and facts that will govern the case and an estimate of the likelihood of obtaining a favorable plea agreement or an outright acquittal.
Source: New York Daily News, Brooklyn woman celebrating 21st birthday dies in drunken driving crash on Williamsburg Bridge
