A suspected DUI wreck injured Greenville SC deputies working for the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office. It is being reported that a person suspected of being under the influence of alcohol caused a car wreck that injured two Greenville County Sheriff’s Office deputies. The suspected DUI wreck occurred in the early morning hours of August 19, 2018, in Greenville County, South Carolina.
According to media reports, two deputies with the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office were responding to a call when a suspected drunk driver illegally turned left in front of the patrol car, causing a collision between the two vehicles. The deputies were injured and were transported to the hospital for treatment. The suspected DUI wreck occurred at White Horse Road and Pendleton Street at a QT convenience store located there.
DUI-caused wrecks are a scourge on our communities in South Carolina. And these car wrecks can harm anyone-including even law enforcement. DUI drivers present a serious and substantial threat to all drivers on the roads of South Carolina.
Media reports have not updated the deputies conditions at this point. Neither has media released the name of the individual who is suspected of being under the influence and causing this wreck.
As an attorney who advocates for clients harmed by drunk drivers, I have seen just how harmful drunk drivers are to other innocent members of our community. It will be interesting to see what was the blood alcohol content of the driver who is suspected driving under the influence in this wreck. In South Carolina, a driver whose blood alcohol content is .08 or higher is presumed to be under the influence. As many public safety advocates have pointed out, South Carolina criminal laws concerning DUI have many loopholes or exceptions that can make prosecuting a DUI very difficult.
In my opinion, the civil justice system, as opposed to the criminal justice system may be a forum to truly help injured victims of DUI drivers. In the civil justice system, DUI drivers can be made to pay for the harm they have caused. An injured victim can receive monetary compensation to restore them to their place before the DUI wreck happened. Moreover, under South Carolina law, punitive damages may be assessed against the DUI driver. And those punitive damages, meant to punish the DUI driver monetarily, as well as to deter others from driving drunk, are in addition to the compensatory damages that an injured person may receive. So when a jury returns a very high verdict-in millions of dollars against a drunk driver-our common law has determined that the high award against one drunk driver will in fact deter other individuals who would think about driving while intoxicated.
Have you recently been in a wreck that was caused by another driver who was driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the wreck? If so, feel free to reach out to me for answers to any legal questions you may have about the DUI wreck. I would be happy to discuss your potential DUI wreck case with you and if there is a case to be made, then I would advocate and fight for you.