Drunk Driving Accident Results in 10 Year Prison Sentence/ Peachtree City Car Accident Lawyer

An Augusta, Georgia man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison as a result of his drunk driving accident earlier this year, which left an infant with serious injuries. The man, Dexter Thomas, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol and serious injury by vehicle. The June 7, 2009 accident left a three month old child with serious injuries, including a fractured skull, a broken leg and seizures. Thomas' driving record included a 1998 DUI conviction and driving on a revoked license.

Each December is when law enforcement officials in Georgia and around the country turn their attention to drunk driving offenders.  This week, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood kicked off a nationwide crackdown on drunk driving to be conducted by individual states. In Georgia, the Governor's Office of Highway Safety will kick off its holiday impaired driving crackdown soon.

Also this week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had some good news for Atlanta car accident lawyers. Nationwide, there was a drop of 7 percent in alcohol-related accident fatalities in 2008. In Georgia, there was a drop of 5 percent in the number of DUI fatalities last year. Part of this could have been due to the fact that there was a decrease in holiday travel last year, because of high gas prices and the crumbling economy. However, the fact is that law enforcement in Georgia is doing a great job keeping drunk drivers off the road and motorists safe. For instance, Thanksgiving holiday travel increased by 3 percent this year, but the number of accidents were lower than 2008.

According to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the states that push more aggressively against drunk drivers have a better chance of lowering their DUI fatality rates.