On July 18, a Lake Wynonah man was sentenced to prison for his role in an accident that killed his 22-year-old fiancée and injured three others. He pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of driving under the influence and four counts of recklessly endangering another person as part of a plea deal.
The accident occurred a few minutes before 10 p.m. on February 15, 2013. The convicted man, now 20, reportedly smoked marijuana before driving his Mazda 3 on Route 183 in Reedsville that night. The vehicle crossed the centerline and hit a southbound Chevy S-10 pickup. The convicted man's fiancée was in the front seat of the Mazda at the time of the accident, and an infant was also in the vehicle.
His fiancée was airlifted to an area hospital and later died from her injuries. The man and the baby were treated for minor injuries at a separate hospital. The two individuals in the Chevy pickup suffered moderate and major injuries.
The defendant was sentenced to 11 to 22 months in prison and an additional two years on probation. He also was ordered to pay $920 in restitution to the hospital at which he was treated and $2,000 in fines.
Auto accident injuries can be debilitating to a person's life at home and at work. Medical bills can pile up quickly, and victims of impaired or drunk driving accidents may be rendered unable to work. A personal injury attorney could be of great help to a potential plaintiff who wanted to know what his or her rights were after an accident with a driver suspected of having been impaired.