Now that the holiday season is well and truly behind us, sobering traffic accident statistics seem to suggest that the trend this year was a decrease in drunk driving arrests, but an increase in alcohol-related crash fatalities.

In Sacramento, California Highway Patrol officers arrested 106 people for drunk driving this holiday season, which ended on the 2nd of January. Last year, a total of 130 people had been arrested for drunk driving during the same period of time. However, the number of people dying in alcohol-related traffic collisions this year was higher than last year. Last year, the number of deaths were 15, while this year, it had increased to 19. The statistics in San Diego County told a similar story. CHP officers arrested 109 people this year on charges of drunk driving, as compared to 122 arrests last year. However, the number of accident-related fatalities was five, compared to 2 last year.

In Los Angeles County, the number of DUI arrests as well as fatalities were down during this holiday season compared to the same period last year. The number of drunk driving arrests last year was 316, and this year, the number had dropped sharply to 276. The number of deaths in alcohol-related accidents was three, compared to four last year.

In Monterrey County however, the number of drunk driving arrests this year was up by a whopping 82 percent compared to last year. The county saw a total of 153 arrests during the holiday season, as well as one fatality as a result of a drunk driving accident. The credit goes to stricter drunk driving enforcement across the county this season. There were more numbers of DUI checkpoints, as well as in-city patrols, and this seems to have helped keep drunk drivers off the streets, as well as fatalities low.

Across the state, drunk-driving arrests continued to drop while fatalities in many cases, rose. Overall in California, more than 1300 motorists were arrested for drunk driving, down from about more than 1500 arrests during the holiday season last year. 30 people died throughout the state in car crashes while last year, the number of deaths had been 26.

The Christmas holiday season which ends with New Years is the most traffic accident heavy season of the year. It’s not just the fact that the peak season lasts for well over a week, and that thousands of people find themselves on the roads on their way to meet family and friends, but also the fact that celebrations get progressively more raucous until New Year’s. Celebrating the arrival of a new year is seen as one of the most alcohol-heavy parties of the year, which explains the increased number of accidents. Unfortunately, it’s also the most stressful period of the year for law enforcement agencies who find themselves entrusted with the responsibility of making sure that auto accidents, injuries, and fatalities are all kept at a minimum.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of drunk driving accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

It’s been a horrible beginning to 2009 for the family of a San Marcos man who was killed in an alcohol-related car accident on New Years’ Day. Guadencio Reyes-Guaintana leaves behind a girlfriend and newborn baby girl.

The accident, the only fatality-causing one that occurred in San Diego County on New Years’ took place in Rancho Santa Fe. Guadencio Reyes-Guaintana was in a 2001 GMC Jimmy. He and his girlfriend had just welcomed a baby girl into their lives. Quintin Garza III, a 21-year-old Camp Pendleton Marine, and Oceanside resident, was following in a 2008 Dodge Caliber, and was under the influence of alcohol. Both cars veered off El Camino Real at La Orilla, and Garza’s Dodge Caliber landed on top of Reyes-Guaintana’s car. Reyes-Guaintana suffered severe injuries, and died at the scene of the accident. Garza was arrested at the scene on suspicion of drunk driving. He is being held on bail of $200,000, and is expected to be arraigned on the 5th of January.

What should have been a delightful year for a young couple is instead going to be one of heartache for the family. A newborn girl has been left fatherless even before she learned to recognize him. Our sympathies go out to Reyes-Guaintana ’s family during this tragic time.

New Year’s is the most alcohol-heavy celebration of the year, with large numbers of drunk driving accidents seen during this period. No matter what the time of the year or the circumstances, drunk driving is considered negligent driving behavior and comes with criminal and civil liability consequences. Unfortunately, criminal courts can hold a drunk driver liable for punishments that can include revoking of the driver’s driving privileges, fines or prison time, but they can’t do much to alleviate the pain and suffering of the victims in these accidents, who are often forced to bear heavy medical and hospital expenses as part of their recovery and rehabilitation.

In such cases, victims have the civil courts to turn to, to claim compensation for their suffering. In an alcohol-related car accident, it’s not just the drunk motorist who can be held liable for damages resulting out of the accident. A number of states, including California have what are called Dram Shop liability laws. According to these, an establishment that serves alcohol like a bar, pub, or restaurant can be held liable for any injuries resulting from an accident caused after their staff has served alcohol to an already intoxicated patron. In such cases, witnesses at the bar can testify that the establishment continued to serve him alcoholic beverages even when the motorist was visibly intoxicated. Even police officers who had the chance to stop a driver at a checkpoint, but let him slip away to cause an accident can be held liable under certain circumstances. Placing responsibility for the accident on a third party requires intensive investigative and evidentiary resources, and an expert Orange County drunk driving accident lawyer can help you build a case resulting in the compensation you deserve.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of drunk driving accident. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

As police officers step up their DUI crackdowns over the holiday season, there are two groups of offenders they will be dealing with – first time offenders who have been stupid enough to get drunk and drive, and habitual offenders who are harder to handle.

In Sacramento alone, there is an estimated 600 drunk driving offenders on probation, the Sacramento Bee reports, and of these at least 80 are reported to be the worst habitual offenders, those who require constant supervision and monitoring to make sure that they are not out on the streets causing more havoc. Probation officers are required to check up on these offenders often, to make sure that they are keeping to the terms of their probation, including abstaining from drinking, doing drugs, and driving. Keeping tabs on the offenders can be a full time job. Officers show up unannounced at the offender’s home to look for any signs that he may be slipping into his old ways again. They may even stalk the person’s house to make sure that he is not tempted to drive off.

Habitual offenders are covered under separate laws that different states have, and these impose harsher penalties on offenders. Some states call these the three strikes law and different states have their own way of prescribing penalties for chronic offenses. Generally, three DUI convictions in a specified period of time are considered as falling under the territory of being a habitual DUI offender. In California, a third DUI conviction in a period of 10 years can lead to time in prison, as well as a revoking of the offender’s driving privileges. He will be declared a habitual offender, and will be considered as one for a period of three years after his third conviction. This means that this will stay on his record, besmirching his reputation and affecting his professional and personal life.

Driving privileges may be reinstated only after the offender undertakes and passes a program that certifies him or her as being fit to drive. In the meantime, the offender may be given a restricted driver’s license, although this will be given only under certain circumstances. Overall, California has some of the toughest drunk driving laws in the state, and these are designed to discourage chronic drunk driving offenses. There are also laws that allow for murder charges to be filed against a drunk driving offender in case of a fatal accident, if it can be proved that he had knowledge that his drunk driving behavior would have consequences, including a liability for murder charges.

Drunk driving accidents cause immense destruction and suffering each year. People are maimed, and lives are lost. Families, who are left behind after a drunk driver has killed one of their own, may find it hard to even conceive the thought of a life of happiness again. What can be prevented simply by using some common sense, and taking the trouble to call a cab or have someone drive you home when you’re not in as position to do so yourself, can have far reaching and life long repercussions. Civil liability is just one of the ways that our system places responsibility for a drunk driving accident on the shoulders of those responsible.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of drunk driving accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

A celebrated Hollywood screenwriter is facing charges of vehicular manslaughter, as well as two additional charges of causing bodily injury while intoxicated, in a drunk driving accident that killed his friend and injured his wife.

Roger Avary, the screenwriter behind such hits as Pulp Fiction and last year’s Beowulf, was present at the hearing where the charges were formally filed. On January 13th of this year, Avary with his wife, and friend Andreas Zini were in his Mercedes sedan. Zini and his wife Maria were in Los Angeles to visit their friends. Maria was following in another car. At some point, Avary missed a curve and crashed into a telephone pole. Zini was killed at the scene of the car accident, while Avary’s wife Gretchen was ejected from the car. She suffered severe injuries, but survived the car crash.

Police who arrived at the scene of the accident found that Avary’s blood alcohol content was above the legally permissible limit. He has now been charged with felony manslaughter and two counts of felony causing bodily injury while drunk. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Despite all the progress that we’ve made with drunk driving in our state, we continue to see more car accidents related to alcohol than we should. Law enforcement agencies have done a great job with the kind of awareness programs that they have going, promoting the “don’t drink and drive” message among teens, and enforcing stricter controls at checkpoints. All these efforts have made California’s streets safer to some extent. But when people like Avary who really should know better, continue to flout the law and act as if the rules don’t apply to them, it seems as if there’s a lot of work to do.

Alcohol and drug use can impair your judgment while driving, and can slow down your response times, both deadly mistakes that can cost you your life. Although we normally consider drunk driving to be about drugs and alcohol, it can also be taken to mean driving under the influence of prescription drugs, and even over-the-counter drugs like cough medicine, anti-allergy medications, etc. Many drugs have the potential to leave you feeling drowsy, and some formulations that do have this side effect mention these on the label. Whether drugs, alcohol, or prescription or over-the-counter medication, driving without being 100 percent in control of your faculties can have devastating consequences.

When a person has been injured, or has lost a loved one as result of an auto accident where the other motorist was clearly under the influence of alcohol or drugs, he or she has the right to bring a civil claim against the offending driver. In such cases, damages can be claimed for the medical bills incurred, as well as future medical bills, pain and suffering that the victim has undergone. In the case of a death resulting from an alcohol-related car accident, it’s possible for family members to claim damages in a wrongful death lawsuit. A California car accident lawyer will be able to help you build your case.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of car accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

A Yuba City, California driver can expect to be charged in connection with a drunk driving accident in which two of his close friends were killed.

The accident that occurred on Highway 99 near Live Oak, California on November 16th, is just one more reminder of the needless risks we take with the lives of those closest to us when we drink and drive. The driver in this car crash, 20-year-old Abdul Umar Hay, was returning from an all-night party with his friend Rafael Courtland Walker and Matthew Stephen Fair. Initial reports say that Hay must have dozed off at the wheel, causing the car to zip though a stop sign. A short while later, it was broadsided by a Ford Explorer. The impact of the crash caused Hay’s car to be pushed over into a nearby orchard. Both Walker and Fair were declared dead at the scene of the car accident. Both were 20-years-old.

Hay was the only survivor, and was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. He can now expect to be charged with felony vehicular manslaughter and felony driving under the influence causing injury. He doesn’t have a previous criminal record, but could be looking at a minimum of 6 months in prison, if found guilty.

The reactions of Walker’s and Fair’s parents were a study in contrast. Fair’s father remains indignant at the thought of a six-month sentence for the man he holds responsible for killing his son, while Walker’s mother, who is a member of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), insists that prison time is not an appropriate sentence. Last Friday, the families of the two victims took part in a memorial service that celebrated their lives.

You have to understand Richard Fair’s anger. Matthew was his only son and whether the two victims in the car had also consumed alcohol or not, the fact is that only Hay was in charge of driving them home. At 20, Hay is looking at an irredeemable stain on his record. This young man has a lifetime ahead of him, and has voluntarily cast a pall over his ambitions and his future through his negligent actions. Hay will have to deal with a lifetime of guilt for the deaths of his two friends.

Underage drinking continues to be a problem, and is cited as a factor in too many California drunk driving accidents for us to take any debate on lowering the drinking age seriously, as proposed by many college deans. What’s needed to tackle the problem is not lowering the drinking age, and giving every 18-year-old in California carte blanche with alcohol, but a joint effort by parents, college administrators as well as the community. In Yuba City, for instance, many parents including Walker’s mother, Jean Hammonds, believes that the area just doesn’t offer enough recreation opportunities for the young to let off steam. The result is underage drinking binges like the one that took place here, and the tragic drunk driving accidents that result from these.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of drunk driving accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

An El Cajon, California man will stand trial in a drunk driving accident case that occurred in July of this year. 35-year-old Shannon Shimp is charged with two counts each of murder, as well as gross vehicular manslaughter in the deaths of Ian Kinney and Joseph Warren Edwards.

The accident took place on Highway 78 on July 22nd. 19-year-old Tessa Medearis was in a Lexus with her boyfriend, 19-year-old Ian Kinney. A pickup driven by Shimp attempting to pass three vehicles skidded out of control, and into the westbound lanes. It crashed into the Lexus, which was also westbound, ending up on top of the car. Ian was killed instantly. Also killed was Shimp’s passenger, 58-year-old Joseph Warren Edwards. Both men died at the scene. Ian left behind his parents, while Edwards is survived by his wife.

Tessa suffered moderate injuries, and had to be extricated from the wreckage. After the accident, Shimp, who had suffered injuries in the car accident, was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries, and then arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. He was found to have been driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.19 when tests were conducted two hours after the car accident.

On Wednesday, Tessa appeared in court to testify about the car accident that killed her boyfriend. The Superior Court Judge ruled that there were grounds for a trial. There will be a hearing on December 3rd to decide on a date for the trial.

For the two families that lost the most in this tragedy, it seems like justice gets nearer every day. They have had to face the pain of losing their loved ones though no fault of their own.

California has a multi-pronged approach to dealing with the DUI menace. Not only does it have some of the most severe drunk driving laws in the country, but it has also had a significant amount of success in bringing down accident rates in the state, through better awareness programs for motorists, stronger checks and monitoring of drivers, as well as graduated licensing programs for teens that encourage them to be fully educated before they are allowed to drive on their own. The stringency of these laws has led to criticism from groups who believe that license suspensions and the focus on passing breath tests, are unfair. When we continue to have drivers like Shimp who think nothing of tanking up with alcohol that’s more than twice over the legal limit, it’s clear that these criticisms are baseless.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of drunk driving accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

A 29-year-old woman was killed in a suspected drunk driving accident in Crescent City, California over the weekend. On Sunday night, 38-year-old Michael Jones, and the victim Jolynda R. Peters, were in Jones’ Honda Prelude, with Jones in the driver’s seat. The car collided with a Ford Ranger which was attempting to make a right turn into a driveway. Jones had apparently been speeding at the time of the car accident. The force of the impact pushed the Ford off the road, and into a ditch. Both Jones as well as the driver of the Ford, 59-year-old Ivan Beckendorf, were injured in the car accident. Peters suffered major injuries, and was later declared dead at the scene of the accident.

Both the injured men were taken to the hospital for treatment of their injuries, and were later transported to a Redding hospital. Tests revealed that Jones was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the car accident. According to Times-Standard, he was arrested for vehicular manslaughter, and for driving under the influence of alcohol. The California Highway Patrol is continuing to investigate the case.

Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration place the number of dead each year nationwide in drunk driving accidents at 17,500. Apart from the people who are killed, there are thousands of others who are injured. This in turn, leads to high expenses for medical treatment, inability to work, and other effects that have an impact on our society.

California has some of the strongest drunk driving laws in the country, and they have been used with great effect by the CHP and drunk driving accident lawyers to bring down the statewide number of drunken driving accident fatalities. According to the laws we have here, it’s not just the person who’s behind the wheel in a drunken state who can be held responsible for injuries sustained as a result of the car accident, but possibly also the establishment that was responsible for serving him the alcohol.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of drunk driving accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

There’s one happy outcome of soaring gas prices that Bakersfield traffic enforcement officials had not planned for – a corresponding drop in auto accidents in the area.

The statistics speak for themselves. According to numbers released by the California Highway Patrol published in The Bakersfield Californian, the number of car accidents have dropped by at least 14 percent since the same period last year. That’s a whopping decrease, no matter what the reason. Last year, Bakersfield witnessed a total of more than 6,000 car accidents. This year sees a markedly improved scenario. Apparently, the rising prices of gas have discouraged people from getting behind the steering wheel unless absolutely essential. There is a lesser amount of driving and consequently, fewer accidents. Fewer vehicles on the road generally tend to make for fewer car crashes.

It’s not just auto accidents that have dropped dramatically. There has also been a drop in the number of drunk driving accident across Kern County. The drop in drunk driving accidents is almost the same as the drop in auto accidents in general. According to CHP statistics for Bakersfield, the number of drunk driving accidents have dropped by as much as 13 percent over the same period last year. The numbers are falling not just in the urban areas, but also in the outskirts, CHP officials say.

The happy story doesn’t end at the borders of Kern County. Reports indicate that all over California, there has been a remarkable decrease in the number of automobile accidents that we have seen this year. Some experts maintain that high gas prices are only partly-responsible for this drop in auto accidents state-wide. There is also something to be said for the kind of vigilant law enforcement that our men and women in the CHP have been putting up. The CHP has done a commendable job of raising awareness levels about traffic safety, and educating motorists about their rights and privileges, as well as their responsibilities. Plus, there has been a stricter crack down on drunk driving, and speeding. There has been a zero tolerance policy towards drunk driving that is resulting in more drivers being arrested before they cause serious damage to themselves or others.

Not that everything is hunky dory on the streets, however. While the number of motor vehicle accidents has gone down substantially, the same can’t be said for motorcycle crashes in the area. Motorcycle accidents this year in Bakersfield and the surrounding areas, have been the highest ever in a long time.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of car accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

A Modesto resident has been arrested after he made a dangerous pass, and crashed his car head-on into another vehicle, in a car accident that injured four of the other car’s passengers.

The Modesto Bee is reporting that on Sunday, Ray Servin was driving his Dodge on Highway 132, in rural west Modesto. According to reports by the California Highway Patrol, he made an “unsafe pass,” and as a result, his car crashed head-on into a Toyota coming up ahead. There were four occupants in the Toyota, and all of them suffered injuries. While Gabriel Guzman and her daughters, 2-year-old Mia and 7-year-old Lajady received major injuries in the car accident, the driver of the Toyota Felix Parada, received moderate injuries. The mother and her two kids were taken to the hospital where they were reported yesterday to be in a stable condition. Parada, who also received treatment at the same hospital as the Guzmans, was released after treatment.

Meanwhile, Servin was treated at the hospital for minor injuries sustained in the car accident. Tests conducted have shown his blood alcohol levels as being above the legal limit. He has now been arrested for driving under the influence with a blood alcohol level of .08 or more. Drinking and driving is not the only charge facing Servin. He has also been charged with irregularities in his identification card. Bail had initially been set at $25,000 but as of Monday, he was a free man.

The string of reckless actions this man indulged in was extensive. Not only was he driving recklessly, without heeding traffic rules, but he was also driving under the influence of alcohol. Add to that the charge of driving with a “fictitious, fraudulently altered, or fraudulently obtained identification card” and you begin to see that this man should logically still be behind bars.

It’s fortunate that the Guzman family was able to get the emergency medical help they needed, and are now expected to recover. This family has been put through a harrowing ordeal, no thanks to Ray Servin. This man should be held responsible for the trauma that the kids went though. Servin is currently a free man, cooling his heels after having posted bail. The Guzmans meanwhile, continue to be in the hospital.

CHP reports have confirmed that the car accident occurred not only due to his drunken behavior, but also the fact that he made a dangerous pass. The Guzman family definitely has grounds for a civil lawsuit against Servin. They should consult a California car accident lawyer quickly as possible to make sure that they receive the compensation they are obviously due.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of car accidents and drunk driving accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

At the end, you can’t really say Marisol Garcia should receive sympathy because the victim of the Riverside car accident she caused was her own daughter. If anything, Garcia’s utter neglect, abuse even, displayed when she raced her sports car at 100 miles per hour with her two young children in the car, qualified her for one of the harsher convictions that she could have faced for drunk driving.

Pe.com reports that on Tuesday, Garcia was found guilty of second degree murder in the death of her daughter Marisa, in the car accident that occurred on the 23rd of April 2005 in Riverside. That evening, Garcia had gone out with some friends after work. Later, experts would testify that she had downed about nine drinks that evening. So precarious was her condition as she left to go home, that her friends warned her son Steven about her drunken state. They thought he would not be safe riding in a car with a drunk driver. This is where it begins to hit you – how callous and neglectful this woman was. Her friends believed her own son wasn’t safe with her driving in that state, and yet, she thought nothing of seating him in the car and getting behind the wheel in her condition. As they headed for home, she picked up her daughter, 11-year-old Marissa, from her aunt’s house.

They continued home, both kids were in the front seat. Marissa had no seatbelt on. As Garcia sped down Central Avenue, her speed was easily 100 miles per hour. It was just after midnight, and she managed to hit another vehicle, but kept right on driving. By this time, the kids were terrified and both were pleading with their mother to stop. She didn’t. Instead, she kept right on until she lost control of her car at some point, and slammed it into pole.

Steven suffered a number of injures, but Marissa died at the scene of the car accident. When police showed up and administered a blood alcohol test, her count was 0.18.

When on Tuesday, it came time for the jury to convict her, they hesitated for less than an hour. Garcia is expected to be sentenced on the 7th of November. It’s obvious that this woman’s callous conduct is as borderline as they come. It’s hard to imagine that as a mother of two children, she didn’t have the slightest inkling of what the possible results of her actions, as she got into that car with her two kids, would be. There was no excuse for Garcia. Her friends were around, and by the looks of it, were sober enough to realize that she needed help driving herself and her kids. She could have easily asked for help getting home.

It’s hard to point to any winners in this case. A girl is dead, and her mother will have to live with the knowledge of her heinous behavior, for the rest of her life.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of drunk driving accidents and car accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us