Charges Upgraded Against Defendant in Fatal Drunk Driving Accident Case

Charges against a man involved in a multi-vehicle car crash that claimed the life of a Nassau County police officer have been significantly increased. J.R., 26, was originally booked on charges of driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of an accident and vehicular manslaughter. At his recent arraignment, however, J.R.'s charges were increased to include aggravated vehicular assault, aggravated vehicular homicide and manslaughter.

The accident occurred just before 5:00 in the morning in mid October of last year when J.R. was driving his vehicle east on the Long Island Expressway. He first hit a BMW but instead of stopping he continued on the expressway and left the scene of that first accident. Police reports state that J.R. went into the HOV lane and then made a sudden stop which caused him to be in a collision with a small sedan which was being driven by an off-duty NYPD detective. That man suffered severe injuries including fractures to his ribs and sternum as well as heart palpitations. A policeman, 19-year-veteran officer J.O., arrived on the scene in his cruiser. The officer put on his emergency lights and positioned his cruiser in front of the two disabled vehicles. He then exited his squad car in order to render aid. An SUV traveling east in the HOV lane slowed as he saw the cruiser's lights but was unable to stop in time to avoid hitting J.R.'s vehicle. The SUV crashed into J.R.'s car which sent the other cars forward and the officer was struck and killed. Make sure you have a skilled personal injury attorney on your side if you were injured or lost a loved one in a car accident caused by a drunk driver.

Hit-and-Run Driver Fails Field Sobriety Test

Additional police units arrived at the accident scene along with emergency medical personnel. The off-duty detective was rushed to the hospital and recovered. J.O. had suffered life-threatening injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. J.R. submitted to a breathalyzer test and was found to have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.14 percent, well over the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Car Accident Lawyer for Injury Cases involving an Intoxicated Driver

Contact a dedicated personal injury lawyer at the Law Offices of Charles R. Gueli as soon as possible if you have been the victim of an accident caused by a driver under the influence of alcohol or drugs. We work hard for our clients to get them the compensation they deserve for their losses and injuries.