Woman charged with drunk driving following death of son

by | May 2, 2018 | Drunk Driving

A 37-year-old woman is facing a nightmare after being accused of inadvertently killing her child in a car accident. The woman has been accused of drunk driving at the time of the crash which caused the death of her 8-year-old son. In addition to the DUI charge, she is also facing homicide by vehicle charges, and will be appearing in a Pennsylvania court soon. 

According to authorities on the scene, the woman left a party around 9:30 p.m. on April 7 with her child in the back seat before crashing her vehicle head-on into another car. The woman said the last thing she remembers is having a conversation on her hands-free phone, and then being pulled from the wreckage by first responders. The child was found unconscious and suffering head and neck trauma. He was rushed to a local hospital by helicopter and succumbed to his injuries three days later. 

The woman told police she had a few drinks at the party, but police say her blood alcohol level was over twice the legal limit for alcohol when her blood was tested at a hospital. She also reportedly tested positive for Clonazepam and Meprobamate, a muscle relaxant. She is set to appear at a bail hearing on May 10 once she is released from the hospital. 

The loss of a child is a horrific tragedy, especially if a parent is accused of being at fault. However, Pennsylvania prosecutors will still have to prove conclusively that she was intoxicated at least by alcohol if the drunk driving charge is to result in a conviction. In the meantime, her criminal defense team will prepare for the trial by carefully reviewing the medical records taken at the hospital to determine whether the blood tests are accurate based on the time of the accident. 

Source: Warminster, PA Patch, “Warminster Mom Charged In DUI Death Of Son“, Kara Seymour, April 24, 2018

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