Kentucky and Ohio struggle with drunk driving deaths

Despite strong laws and public awareness, residents in Ohio and Kentucky continue to experience a rash of drunk driving deaths.

Most people in Ohio and Kentucky know that driving a motor vehicle after consuming alcoholic beverages is not safe. On top of that, making the choice to drink and drive is expressly illegal if a driver’s blood alcohol content is beyond 0.08 percent.

Sadly, too many people seem willing to ignore these facts or perhaps underestimate just how easily it is to have a BAC reach that legal limit and impair their judgement and ability to drive safely. As a result, innocent people continue to die at the hands of drunk drivers.

How many drunk driving deaths occur in Ohio?

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the state of Ohio has seen an increase in both the total number of vehicular fatalities and the number of drunk driving fatalities for three consecutive years. In 2013, 266 out of 989 auto collision deaths involved alcohol. In 2014, that jumped to 302 drunk driving deaths out of 1,006 total deaths.

In the subsequent two years, Ohio saw 1,110 and 1,132 people die in automobile accidents, respectively. Drunk driving accounted for 309 deaths in 2015 and 324 deaths in 2016. In 2016, alcohol was a factor in 29 percent of all vehicular fatalities statewide.

How many drunk driving deaths occur in Kentucky?

Between 2013 and 2016 Kentucky has also seen the total number of deaths in motor vehicle accidents increase every year. In 2013, there were 638 deaths and in 2016, the state lost 834 lives on the road. Drunk driving was a noted factor in 26 percent of the deaths in 2013. In both 2014 and 2015, alcohol was involved in one out of every four fatalities. Drunk driving deaths accounted for 21 percent of all deaths in 2016.

Is there a typical drunk driving accident?

Perhaps one challenge with drunk driving accidents is that there is no standard situation making it all but impossible for people to avoid these tragic incidents. For one 16-year-old girl, the simple act of driving her mother home in Mayfield, Kentucky, put both of them in harm’s way. According to WAVE3.com, a 37-year-old man with two prior drunk driving offenses on his record, hit them. Both the girl and her grandmother experienced serious injuries including broken bones and excessive blood loss and their prognoses remains unknown.

Fox 8 Cleveland reported on the death of a 17-year-old boy after the driver of the vehicle he was in crashed into a pole after speeding through a red light. Alcohol was a reported factor in this unnecessary accident.

In Jerusalem Township, 13 ABC explains that three people were killed when a 26-year-old drunk illegal immigrant failed to obey a stop sign and smashed into their van.

What can people do after a drunk driving accident?

While preventing these tragic crashes is always a goal, when drunk drivers do manage to cause horrible accidents, people involved should take action. Talking to an attorney should be a priority at this time to give Ohio and Kentucky residents guidance on how to seek compensation.