Two people suffered injuries and one woman was killed in a single vehicle accident Saturday in Penn Township. Police believe that a Carlisle, Pennsylvania, man lost control of his car on a curve shortly after 11:30 Saturday night. The car slammed into a tree on the passenger side of the vehicle.
Two women were riding as passengers; one in the front and one in the back. The woman riding in the back seat of the car was killed in the wreck. Officials say that the brunt of the impact occurred to the rear of the vehicle on the passenger side.
The other woman was trapped in the vehicle and emergency crews had to extricate her during the rescue effort. The passenger who survived the crash was flown to an area hospital after being cut out of the wreckage. Authorities say that the man driving the car suffered moderate injuries.
Officials continue to investigate the Cumberland County accident. Troopers from the Pennsylvania State Police believe that speed and alcohol may have both been factors in the wreck. It is not clear what led police to suspect alcohol may have been involved. Toxicology test results are not yet known. Police are poring over evidence and conducting reconstructive accident analysis to learn more about the accident.
In general, drunk driving accidents may not always involve multiple vehicles. Passengers in a car accident may suffer injury, including fatal injury, in a drunk driving crash.
Notably, Pennsylvania law allows victims of a drunk driving accident to pursue a claim against an establishment who served an alcohol to a driver later involved in a crash--in specific circumstances. Liquor liability laws are complex, and an independent investigation may be needed in a Pennsylvania dram shop case. A victim needs to show that an establishment was negligent in serving a person who was already visibly intoxicated in these kinds of disputes.