11 Dec 2014
A car crash in late November has resulted in escalated charges against one of the drivers.
According to police reports, the accident happened in the early morning hours of November 30, when a Mazda traveling westbound on Riverside Drive went through a red light, and collided with the passenger side of a vehicle attempting to make a turn at the intersection. A passenger in the Mazda told police that the driver, Kevin Murray, had been driving erratically, and that he and the other passengers had asked Murray to slow down. They also told the police that Murray had been drinking prior to the incident. Murray allegedly admitted to the officers that he had also smoked marijuana and used cocaine.
Initially, Murray was charged with intoxication assault. In Texas, that charge is a third degree felony. The injured woman eventually succumbed to the injuries, and Murray now faces a charge of intoxication manslaughter, generally a second degree felony.
Austin, according to some, has a comparatively poor record when it comes to DWI. A few years ago, in fact, Austin PD Chief Art Acevedo stated that the city led the country in drunk driving deaths. While the statistics on this subject can be a bit difficult to unravel (fixed numbers vs. per capita figures, for example), Texas did have the number one spot in America in 2011 when it came to alcohol-impaired traffic deaths.
Last year, on the city level, Austin was in fourth place in alcohol-related driving deaths in Texas, behind Houston, San Antonio and Dallas. That sounds like Austin has more than its share of these tragedies, but the fact of the matter is that Austin is also the fourth largest city in Texas in terms of population . . . behind, not surprisingly, the three cities with a larger population, namely Houston, San Antonio and Dallas. We haven’t worked out the per capita numbers, but the simple truth is that DWI is a huge issue throughout the United States, and that neither Austin, nor any other city, is immune to the myriad of problems caused by drunk driving.
Law Office of David D. White, PLLC
1201 Rio Grande Street #200
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 369-3737