8 Jul 2013
On June 12, 2013, a motor vehicle crash occurred in Austin that was stranger than most. According to the Austin Police Department website, it occurred around 11 p.m. at East Oltorf Street. For reasons which are yet unclear, a Silver Jeep Grand Cherokee, traveling westbound, veered to the left, crossed three lanes of traffic, traveled over a curb, through a parking lot, over another curb, then crashed through the doors of a laundromat. Unfortunately, the situation got even worse at that point.
When the Jeep entered the establishment, it struck an employee, and pinned him against some machinery, identified as either a washing machine or a dryer. The driver, according to police, then attempted to flee the scene. Officers on a call nearby say they were able quickly to apprehend the 21-year old woman. The officers were also able to administer first aid to the employee. But after almost three weeks, the employee died as the result of his injuries. The woman has now been charged with intoxication manslaughter (a second degree felony) and failure to stop and render aid in an accident involving serious injury or death (a third degree felony). Obviously, this is a tragedy.
Nevertheless, we believe that all defendants are innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and situations such as this require an extremely knowledgeable and experienced criminal defense lawyer in order to protect the rights of the suspect. In this case, the amount of evidence in the prosecutor’s hands is substantial. There appears, for example, to be a good deal of eyewitness testimony. While such testimony is not infallible, it does present obstacles for the defense. Someone apparently says that he or she observed the Jeep swerving and crossing multiple highway lanes. There will also be the testimony of the responding officers and the EMS workers. In addition, according to the arrest affidavit, the defendant was allegedly observed attempting to flee the scene after the crash by backing out of the laundromat. Finally, the affidavit reports that the defendant’s blood alcohol content was .198 – that’s more than twice the legal limit.
We’ll keep an eye out for developments in the case, and watch to see if the defense is able to poke holes in the prosecution’s case.
Law Office of David D. White, PLLC
1205 Rio Grande Street
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 369-3737