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Kenwood Woman Charged in Drunk Driving Accident
April 25, 2008

A Kenwood woman will go to trial for gross vehicular manslaughter after a judge ruled that there was enough evidence against her in a drunk driving accident that killed a Santa Rosa, California resident. The woman, Chelsea Tedeschi, was under the influence at the time of the crash, which occurred on July 17.

The drunk driving accident occurred a mile east of Oakmont, California on Highway 12. The victim, Jane Beverly Todd, was riding in a car being driven by her 16-year-old son Doug. According to his testimony, the two of them were returning to Santa Rosa when an incoming car veered into his lane. He tried to swerve into the eastbound lane to avoid her, but the cars collided anyway. Tedeschi's car ended up 100 feet away from the point of impact.

Jane Beverly Todd died at the scene of the drunk driving accident. Tedeschi was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment of her injuries, and was given a blood alcohol test. The readings were 0.19 percent, 0.20 percent and 0.22 percent.

Tedeschi admitted to officers that she had had two glasses of Chardonnay over dinner with her mom, and had two vodka shots after that in her apartment, before the drunk driving accident. She had also taken an anti-depressant pill. She also admitted that she shouldn't have been driving.

Well, it's a little late for that moment of truth. This hindsight clarity doesn't bring back Jane Beverly Todd, and it doesn't help her family deal with her loss.

Tadeschi's attorneys have come up with a drunk driving defense that's sure to tug at the heartstrings. Apparently, Tedeschi was recovering from an abusive relationship, and had been on anti-depressants at the time of the drunk driving accident. Surely the doctor who prescribed her anti-depressants did not advise her to take the pill, mix it up with some vodka and a little Chardonnay and go right ahead and drive off at night.

There's a little thing called accountability for your actions that this young woman has obviously not heard of. When she gets into a car dizzy from all the pills and alcohol in her, she takes responsibility for any drunk driving accidents that may happen on the road. People have relationship problems. They break up. They get depressed. If we begin to use that as an excuse for drunk driving accidents, we insult the memory of those who died needlessly as a result of their behavior. Why did Jane Todd have to pay for any personal problems Tedeschi had? There are so many things she will never be able to do now - watch her son graduate from college, weep at his wedding, see her grandkids. And all because a woman who should have known better chose to take no responsibility for her actions.

As expected, Tadeschi has pleaded not guilty charges related to the drunk driving accident. The Todds, however, have moved ahead with a wrongful death lawsuit against Tadeschi. That case will come up in September.

If you have been the victim in a drunk driving accident, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury lawyer. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

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Family gets a $3 Million Hospital Bill after DUI Accident
April 04, 2008

If there ever was a case in favor making the alcohol industry liable in some way for the injuries caused when irresponsible drivers choose to drive drunk, the Hubers would be a perfect example. A comfortably middle class Tucson, Arizona family has exhausted their savings, and their household income is half of what it used to be thanks to a drunk driver. Their son, Chris, still struggles with an amputated leg, so his father, Vernon, had to quit his job to take care of him.

And all because of a drunken driver, who has managed to change life for the worse for this family.

On April 1^st last year, 21-year-old Chris was walking with his brother Chad near Chad's apartment complex, when a car driven by a drunken driver came racing down the road and mowed him down. Without warning, the driver drove straight into Chris. He was thrown into the windshield, over the top of the vehicle and then snagged on the rear of the still moving car. The driver raced on ahead in his drunken daze, not even realizing he had hit anyone. When Chad turned around to look for Chris, his brother was hanging off a speeding car. Luckly, someone managed to flag the car down. By the time Chris touched the ground, he had broken both his legs and had a pelvic fracture. His legs were hanging by shreds of skin, and he had survived an almost fatal fracture to his spine. He was rushed to the hospital where his mother, Linda, says he had at least 20 surgeries in the first few weeks. A staph infection in his right leg meant one of the worst words a 21-year-old could possibly hear - amputation. If left as it was, the infection threatened to spread to his intestines and stomach. The bill for the first year after his crash? $3 million.

The driver of the car that hit Chris was given 10 days in lock up. He didn't have liability insurance. Chris had no health insurance. The family was on their own for the medical bills, and they were piling up. In the midst of this, Linda and Vernon have managed to get Chris slowly back to some semblance of his life. There is plenty of rehabilitation to go through, but at least he's alive.

The driver of the car is currently cooperating in a lawsuit against the bar where he had been drinking before he mowed Chris down. He was so drunk, apparently, that the bartender and waiters had to shake him awake. They filled him with enough alcohol for him to nearly pass out unconscious, and then sent him off on his way. Where was their sense of responsibility? How difficult would it have been to realize that a man so drunk he was almost passed out on the counter was going to be a grave danger to himself and to others on the road?

It's too late for Chris to have his heath back, but for the sake of other drivers on the road, let's hope the bar gets cleaned out and shut down.

If you have been injured by a drunk driver, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury lawyer. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

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Miami Archdiocese to pay $14 Million to Boy with Brain Injuries
April 02, 2008

All it would have taken for the authorities at Gabriel Maynoldi's school was to let parents know there was an underage drinking party planned at the home of one of his classmates. The school might not have had permission to interfere in a private party in a private home, but it would have been totally within its bounds to inform parents of teenagers that their kids were about to embark on a drink fest that might not end well.

Kids and alcohol make a potent combination. Combine that with a car and you have all the ingredients for a disaster. When the party at the home of Enrique and Yasmin Valcarcel wound down, friends Gabriel and Michael Sanchez-Agramonte set off for home in their white Acura. They were traveling at approximately 80 miles an hour when the car slammed into a tree. The impact cracked the car in half. Michael died instantly. Gabriel suffered severe brain injuries, and remains paralyzed and confined to a wheel chair. Michael had a blood alcohol level of .22 and Gabriel's alcohol level was .096. The legal allowed limit is .08. It was 2001, and the boys were 17 years old.

Gabriel's parents sued the Archdiocese of Miami for negligence, and on Friday a court ruled in their favor, finding the Archdioceses liable for $14 million. In their lawsuit, the parents claimed that the boy's school, Archbishop Coleman Carroll High School, was partially negligent in the accident. On the day of the fateful party, the school authorities, including Principal Richard Fenchak, were fully aware that an underage drinking party was being planned at the home of the Valcarcels. Invitations for the party had been circulating in the school, and it was clearly obvious to anyone who saw them that copious amounts of alcohol were going to flow. The invite featured a picture of Crown Royal Whiskey, and an invitation that read "Come end the school year the right way."

Not only was principal Fenchak aware of the party, but he actually made joking references to it on the public address system at school that day. He even dropped by the party venue where he saw students of his own school dropping unconscious from drinking the alcohol, and he didn't see fit to step in and take an authoritative role. One assumes he wanted to be a jolly and happy-go-lucky principal who was a friend to all his students - a cool principal, in short.

Except that Gabriel Maynoldi's condition is far from being cool. He has no use of his arms and legs, and his muscles have to be painfully stretched to prevent contraction. This is a boy who can never have a normal life.

When the Maynoldis admitted their son into this private school, they signed a document that stated that the school would inform them of any illegal activities that were being planned on campus. The last time we checked drinking before the age of 21 was illegal in this country. The Maynoldis deserved to know that their child was going to be indulging in dangerous activities. Placing the blame on the parents avoids the crux of the matter - that the school was supposed to inform the parents of any untoward events being planned, and it didn't. It shirked its responsibility, with tragic consequences for two young men.

If you have been injured in a drunk driving related accident, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury attorney. Contact a lawyer at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

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