Two women from out of state were tragically killed in McIntosh County after a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 95, according to police. Georgia State Patrol Specialized Reconstruction Team Investigators have confirmed the deaths of the two women. Police believe drunk driving may have played a role in the accident and report that charges are pending against one driver involved. According to GSP troopers, around 2:30 a.m. on the morning of June 13, a 20-year-old man apparently rear-ended another car in the southbound lanes, disabling the second vehicle. Its four occupants, a woman and her son and daughter, along with the son's spouse, exited the vehicle to seek shelter on the side of the road. What followed was best described as a pileup as three more cars became involved in the crash. It is not clear at what point the two women were struck by one of these vehicles, or even…

Even after many years of media campaigns warning people not to drink and then drive, story after story in the news media tell the public of vehicular accidents involving intoxication. Alcohol can impair the senses enough that a drunk driving accident can kill or permanently injure anyone involved. A Georgia woman is facing charges after an alleged drunk driving accident. The Georgia State Patrol states that several troopers were called to the scene of an accident that left one person dead and two others injured. Through their investigation, they learned a woman driving a large SUV veered from her lane into that of oncoming traffic, where she collided head-on with a sedan. The sedan was then hit from behind by a pickup truck. The driver of the sedan died and the two people in the truck were injured, although not seriously. The troopers arrested the driver of the SUV, who was…

The arrests for drinking and driving in Georgia are numerous on any given day. Drunk driving continues to be a problem no matter how extensive advertising campaigns warning about the consequences. Many people who drive after drinking believe nothing will happen to them and often do not care when something does. A soldier stationed at an Army base in Georgia had his first court appearance after being arrested and charged with drunk driving. The 22-year-old man is accused of speeding and hitting the back end of another car, pushing the car into a ditch by the side of the road. One of the passengers in the car, an 18-year-old high school student, died from the impact. The driver and a second passenger were injured and were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. Other than drunk driving, the soldier is facing numerous charges including injury and homicide by vehicle. He is…

Ask most people who have been victims in an accident due to reckless behavior and they will say the effects can last for years to come. Excessive speeding, tailgating, texting while driving and drunk driving are all examples of reckless driving that could cause irreparable damage should they result in an accident. A Georgia man has been sentenced for causing multiple injuries to two people in a drunk driving incident. In May 2017, the man was driving his pickup truck when he hit a sedan with a family of six inside. The mother and one of the children suffered several broken bones as well as other injuries. Testimony during his recent trial indicated the man's blood-alcohol level at the time of the collision was over three times the legal limit of .08 in Georgia. The trial lasted four days and the man was found guilty on six charges against him. He…

Driving after consuming alcoholic beverages is a recipe for disaster. According to some statistics, the number of accidents caused by drunk driving has risen in the past few years. Drunk driving by a Georgia man is said to be the cause of a collision causing injuries to people and death to a beloved pet. A report states a 57-year-old man driving a minivan crossed the center line into the lane of oncoming traffic. He crashed into an SUV headed straight toward him. He and the other driver had to be cut out of their vehicles and, along with the passenger in the SUV, were transported to a nearby hospital. All three were critically injured and a dog belonging to the couple in the SUV died. The incident report by police claimed the minivan contained drugs and alcohol, causing them to arrest the driver on charges of reckless driving, felony serious injury…

High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes have become popular in Georgia and elsewhere around the country. Sometimes HOV lanes are designated by a white diamond on the road and other times they are separated roadways that control the direction of traffic with the use of barriers. The barrier controlled lane of I-75 was the site of a head-on crash that is thought to be the result of drunk driving. A driver entered the HOV lane going in the wrong direction at about 6 a.m. one recent morning. The driver, who is believed to have been drunk, crashed through nine barriers driving south into northbound traffic. The southbound driver crashed head-on into a northbound car. Another northbound vehicle rear-ended the car that had been hit head-on. The drivers of the three vehicles involved were transported to local hospitals. Their conditions are unknown. According to police reports, the HOV lane has been open…

Many drivers who drink before heading out on the road do not believe they will cause an accident, and still, others do not care whether they do or not. Drunk driving not only puts the driver at risk, but it also puts any passengers as well as others on the road in danger. One Georgia woman got more than she bargained for when she was arrested for drunk driving. According to a report, the woman veered from the lane in which she was driving and into oncoming traffic. She crashed head-on into a car traveling in that lane. The three young people in the car she hit were able to jump out of their car just before it went off the road and down a steep hill. All three suffered minor injuries but were able to walk away from the scene. When police arrived and began questioning the woman, they discovered…

Even after many years of pleas from law enforcement and those who have lost a loved one by someone who drives after drinking, the problem still looms large all over the country. Getting busted over one drunk driving incident also does not necessarily stop some from becoming repeat offenders. Georgia State Patrol joined city police in the chase to stop a drunk driving suspect but was unsuccessful until his actions are said to have killed a passenger in his car. According to the GSP, an officer attempted to pull the 30-year-old driver over for an undisclosed violation. The driver would not stop, resulting in the officer calling for backup. The chase took the vehicles onto Interstate 85, but the vehicle crashed when the driver could not negotiate the curve on an exit ramp. One of the passengers in the speeding vehicle had served in the National Guard before departing for medical reasons.…

Traffic in Georgia seems to have reached an all-time high in the last week. Roadways are packed with people driving up from Florida in order to get out of the path of Hurricane Irma. Unfortunately, with more people on the roads, small accidents are taking a greater toll on the flow of traffic. The increased number of drivers also means that drunk driving accidents are more likely to cause serious harm. Last Saturday a young father was killed by a drunk driver. The victim's car was T-boned at an intersection on his commute to work. After the accident, the driver of the other vehicle was arrested. He has been charged with DUI and driving without a license. Unfortunately, this is not the first time that drunk driving has affected this family. It was revealed later that a relative of the victim was also killed by a drunk driver. The family has set up…

According to statistics released by the federal government, more than 150 billion text messages are sent each month in this country. It should not come as a surprise that 20 percent of teenagers and 10 percent of adults admitted to engaging in extended text messaging conversations while driving. Georgia has enacted several laws aimed at making highways safer by restricting activities by drivers that put other people at risk of serious injury in an auto accident. For example, school bus drivers in Macon and in other communities are prohibited from using their cellphones for talking or texting while driving. This ban also applies to drivers who are younger than 18 years of age. Drivers 18 years of age and older are prohibited from texting and driving. These cellphone laws are primary violations under state law. As a primary violation, a police officer may stop a motorist who is in violation without…