Sadly, an 8-year-old Utah boy lost his life in a traffic accident just one day after his birthday. The story of how he died, however, is currently subject to controversy. The question is whether his death was the result of a DUI, or if it was just a tragic accident.
The boy had received a skateboard for his birthday and was out riding it on the street. According to his grandmother, he was sitting on it at the time because he did not yet know how to ride it. At the same time, a family with small children was walking on the other side of the street.
According to members of the family who were out walking, a vehicle made a right turn and swung wide into the left side of the street in order to avoid them. Unfortunately, in doing so the vehicle struck the boy. He was taken to a hospital in the area, but died from his injuries nonetheless. The family claims that it is highly possible that the woman did not see the boy because he was sitting or crouching on the skateboard.
Police, however, say that preliminary toxicology screens indicate that some sort of drugs might have impaired her at the time of the accident. More sophisticated testing is currently being done to determine what, if anything, the woman had in her blood when the crash occurred. No charges have been filed pending those results.
It’s likely that this woman has already engaged legal counsel in view of the seriousness of the accusations. Her right needs to be protected throughout the process. If Utah prosecutors believe that this was a DUI-related accident, her criminal defense counsel will already be aware of how the investigation was conducted and what evidence prosecutors intend to present at trial. This could help with formulating a defense to any charges that could be filed.
Source: good4utah.com, “Police: 8-year old boy killed by DUI impaired driver“, Marcos Ortiz, March 21, 2016
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