A Louisiana man is facing serious charges related to a fatal bicycle accident. Accused of drunk driving, he is also charged with vehicular homicide, vehicular injury, vehicular negligent injuring and hit-and-run driving. Police believe that his blood-alcohol content was above the legal limit at the time of the accident.
The accident happened on March 2, 2019, and the nine bicyclists who were involved were apparently in a bike lane alongside a road. As the 32-year-old driver was traveling on the same road, his vehicle swerved and ended up in the bike lane. All of nine of the bicyclists were hit. A 27-year-old woman and 31-year-old man were killed in the wreck and had been pronounced dead while still at the site of the accident. Another seven suffered serious injuries.
A blood draw was performed on the driver about five hours later. His BAC at the time registered at .14, which is higher than Louisiana’s legal limit of .08. Investigators estimated that his BAC at the time of the wreck was possibly around .215, which he disputes. He does not believe there is a scientific basis for demonstrating what his BAC might have been hours before the blood draw.
Drunk driving charges in Louisiana are serious enough as it is. Adding in additional charges for things such as vehicular homicide and injury can complicate a person’s situation. Although a defendant might be eager to minimize his or her potential criminal consequences, it is not always clear how to go about that when there are multiple charges. However, this is not an impossible situation, as an experienced attorney can usually provide valuable guidance on proceeding through these difficult matters.
