Man Sentenced in Fatal Drunk Driving Accident in Huntington Beach
February 1st, 2010
The motorist in a fatal accident that killed his passenger in Huntington Beach has been sentenced to 11 years in prison. On November 15th 2008, Kenneth John McNair was driving a Honda Accord that rear ended a Ford Mustang driven by Jose Pacheco. The Mustang burst into flames up on impact, and Pacheco suffered fatal burn injuries. He was 20 years old at the time of the accident. Blood alcohol tests would later show that McNair was driving at a level of .25, more than 3 times the legal limit.
According to the deputy district attorney, McNair was not only driving under the influence, but was also driving without a license and speeding at up to 100mph. Soon after the accident, McNair allegedly walked away from the crash scene, but was stopped by Huntington Beach police. Earlier that evening, McNair had been playing “beer pong.” He drank up to 10 beers, and then went off to another of his favorite joints in Huntington Beach to drink some more.
Pacheco’s family had appealed to the Orange County Superior Court judge to sentence McNair to 15 years in prison, the maximum sentence for this crime. However, Judge James Marion seems to have taken into consideration McNair’s apparently genuine remorse for the crash
Every year, more than 1,000 people die in drunk driving accidents in California. Those numbers have been steadily declining over the past few years. In 2008, there were 1,029 fatalities resulting from alcohol-related car crashes in California. That was a drop from 1,132 fatalities in 2007, 1,272 fatalities in 2006 and 1,298 fatalities in 2005. There have been plenty of factors that have contributed to the decline in these DUI fatality rates. California, which already has some of the toughest laws against drunk driving in the country, has also invested in stronger enforcement of these laws. Even in times of financial upheaval, the California Office of Traffic Safety has handed out grants to local counties to enable them to conduct sobriety checkpoints and patrols.
Checkpoints and patrols have a big role to play in bringing down drunk driving rates. Motorists are less likely to drive in an impaired state, if they know that they are likely to be pulled over and arrested for drunk driving. Such measures are particularly intense in California during holidays when there are large numbers of drunk drivers on the streets.
The California Highway Patrol has also invested heavily in conducting awareness and education programs to drive home anti drunk driving messages. California drunk driving accident lawyers know that these issues can only be dealt with through a combination of education efforts with enforcement activities. Where drunk driving is concerned, communities, parents and schools also have a big role to play. Teen motorists are some of the highest risk groups for drunk driving.
Targeting this group of vulnerable motorists can help further bring down the number of alcohol-related car crashes in California.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of drunk driving accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.
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