Connecticut Man Receives 18-Month Sentence For Drunk Driving

A 32-year old Connecticut man will spend 18 months in prison after entering Alford pleas to charges of assault with a motor vehicle and driving under the influence. Alford pleas are entered by defendants who maintain innocence but admit that the prosecutor has sufficient evidence to convince a jury. The man’s sentence, which also calls for three years of probation, was handed down on Jan. 17.

The man was charged after being involved in a car accident in February 2016. A Meriden man was pinned between two cars when a Nissan pickup truck driven by the man struck the rear of a stationary Kia minivan on Broad Street at approximately 10:45 p.m. Reports indicate that the 35-year-old pedestrian was attempting to cross Broad Street when he was struck.

The force of the impact was severe enough to sever the pedestrian’s right leg and seriously injure his left leg. A responding police officer applied a tourniquet to what remained of the pedestrian’s right leg, and paramedics transported the critically injured man to Hartford Hospital. Police say that the driver was taken into custody after failing a field sobriety test at the scene. Subsequent chemical tests revealed his blood-alcohol level to be .14 percent. The legal limit to drive in Connecticut is .08 percent.

Those who choose to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol face serious civil and criminal sanctions. Some drunk drivers who kill or seriously injure other road users spend decades behind bars and others are killed in the accidents they cause. Car accident lawsuits are generally filed against the reckless motorist involved, but this is not possible if that individual is deceased or incarcerated. In these situations, experienced personal injury attorneys may initiate litigation against the negligent individual’s auto insurance company or estate.