Fatal Philadelphia Accident Blamed on Drunk Driver

Police investigating an accident that killed an 11-year-old girl in Philadelphia last week, are blaming an intoxicated driver for the accident. The accident occurred in front of a store front at the Italian Market in Philadelphia.

Investigators believe that a 28-year-old motorist who was driving under the influence, ran a red light, and crashed into the front of a fish shop. When the SUV crashed into the store, it pinned the young girl to the wall, and she sustained fatal injuries. Another child and the occupants of the SUV were also injured in the accident.

Police believe that the motorist was driving under the influence, and he has been charged with vehicular homicide, DUI and reckless endangerment. Investigators are also considering the possibility that the man had been distracted by a GPS device, when he ran the red light.

Court records indicate that this will not be the intoxicated motorist’s first time in court. In the past, he had been cited for everything from aggravated assaults to reckless endangerment. In 2002, he had been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and had been sentenced to probation. In 2004, and again in 2007, he was charged with possession of marijuana.

Stronger enforcement, greater awareness of the dangers of drunk driving, and lowered public tolerance for drunk driving – all of these have helped contribute to a decline in the number of fatal drunk driving accidents occurring in Philadelphia every year. Across the country, there has been a similar decline in drunk driving accidents. Intoxicated driving used to be the primary factor in most motor vehicle accidents that Philadelphia car accident lawyers came across three decades ago, and that’s no longer true.

While DUI accident fatality numbers have dropped to a large extent, the fact is that impaired drivers still continue to threaten motorist safety.