A 30-year old Guttenberg man is facing numerous criminal charges following a tragic accident that occurred last weekend. He is accused of driving drunk and causing an accident that ended in the death of his infant niece, only one year old.
According to The Jersey Journal, the man was driving his BMW X3 with six passengers inside. One of the passengers was his niece, who was sitting on someone’s lap. The BMW was heading north on Boulevard East around 9:30 p.m. when he is alleged to have crossed the center lane into oncoming traffic.
The child was immediately taken to Jersey City Medical Center but was then medevac’d to Hackensack University Medical Center. She died at approximately 2 a.m.
The child’s injuries were the only serious ones, but the man is likely facing a considerable amount of pain knowing his potentially preventable actions killed his young family member.
He is now charged with numerous different offenses including: endangering the welfare of a child, reckless driving, not having the child in a car seat, assault by auto, four DWI related charges and the most serious—vehicular homicide.
People are arrested for drunk driving every single day. Fortunately, it rarely ends in such tragedy. Typically the police pull someone over for erratic driving and it’s then that they are discovered to have possibly had too much to drink.
The legal limit in the state of New Jersey is .08. It isn’t clear what his blood alcohol content was, but considering the charges, it’s likely he was over the legal limit.
Each person is unique and how many drinks it takes you to get to a blood alcohol content of .08 is also unique. Sometimes, people feel completely fine and not intoxicated. It’s only when they are cuffed in the back of a cop car that they reconsider their choice to drive.
When you are accused of drunk driving, it can be a frightening time. Not only are you facing serious legal penalties, your reputation can be tarnished. Fortunately, not all charges end in conviction and as a local DWI attorney, I can help minimize the effects of such charges on your life.
If this is your first offense, your penalties could be much less severe than someone who already has a history of drunk driving. But when you’re the one facing jail time, “less severe” isn’t lenient enough.
If you are accused of any criminal charge in New Jersey, contact my offices today to discuss your case and how we might be able to help.