Drunk Driving

August 28, 2010

Oregon Car Crash Driver Cited in Two States

A car crash near the center of the Glenn Jackson Bridge earlier this week wrecked a semi-trailer and a Honda, sent two people to the hospital and ended with the driver of the Honda facing legal trouble in both Oregon and Washington.

The Oregon car and truck accident left 21-year old Ilya Anikin facing drunk driving charges in two states after crashing his vehicle on the bridge just inside the Oregon state line in the early hours of Thursday morning, according to The Oregonian. Police are still on the lookout for the driver of a red Pontiac alongside whom, they say, Anikin was driving recklessly as the two cars crossed the bridge headed from Washington into Oregon.

NWCN reports that the Oregon truck accident unfolded in an Oregon DOT workzone near the middle of the bridge when Anikin’s Honda swerved, hitting the semi “in the left rear axle, causing its two trailers to drive over, and somewhat flatten, the car.” The Oregonian reports that the trailers tipped over, smashing into the bridge’s center divider, blocking the road and spilling a huge amount of glue, which the truck was hauling (and which work crews struggled – successfully – to get cleaned up prior to the morning rush hour). The driver of the truck was uninjured, but Anikin and a passenger were treated at a local hospital, where Oregon police cited Anikin for DUII and reckless driving. Washington state police then arrested him and issued another, Washington State, DUI citation.

August 11, 2010

Oregon Dram Shop Law Hangs Over Head of Convicted Portland Drunk Driver

by Matthew D. Kaplan

A Multnomah County man convicted in a drunk driving incident that seriously injured two pedestrians has already been sentenced to nearly six years in prison, but faces additional time behind bars if he refuses to cooperate with a related Oregon dram shop law case pending in civil court, according to The Oregonian.

The newspaper reports that Dallas Lawrence, now 25, struck two women after he left a bar while clearly drunk last February. His Oregon drunk driving conviction in the criminal case growing out of the incident is separate from the potential Portland dram shop law case focused on the bar that allegedly continued to serve Lawrence. That case turns on the allegation that the bar allowed Lawrence to get into his car and drive off into the night despite being so drunk that, according to The Oregonian, he “fell off his bar stool” before heading out to the parking lot.

The paper reports that Lawrence’s two victims have not yet filed suit against the bar where he spent the evening drinking. Lawrence faces an additional 2-1/2 years in prison if he does not cooperate, should a suit go forward.

July 2, 2010

Beaverton Car Crash Kills Two

by Matthew D. Kaplan

An Oregon car crash Wednesday left two people dead in Beaverton, highlighting in the most tragic way possible the need for caution behind the wheel as we head into this holiday weekend.

According to The Oregonian, the Washington County car accident took place at mid-afternoon on South Murray Boulevard. The driver “barely stopped for the red light” before making a right turn and then speeding up. The abrupt acceleration caused “the car to fishtail across both lanes, jump the curb and crash into” a concrete wall, the paper reports. A 54-year old man riding in the passenger seat was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. The driver, a 61 year old woman, was airlifted to a Portland hospital following the Oregon car accident, but died a few hours later.

Television station KGW quotes police investigating the accident saying both that speed “appears to have been” one cause of the Oregon single car accident, and that alcohol use may also have played a role.

May 31, 2010

Astoria fatal crash raises multiple legal issues

by Matthew D. Kaplan

Alcohol-related Oregon fatal car accidents and holiday weekends seem to have a grim connection. As the Daily Astorian notes, Memorial Day has long been the holiday weekend in Oregon most closely associated with alcohol-related fatalities. This year is no exception. According to the newspaper an Oregon drunk driver strayed over the center line of Highway 30 just east of Astoria Sunday night, striking a motorcyclist nearly head-on.

The motorcycle rider, who was wearing a helmet, was thrown from his bike and killed. Both the alleged drunk driver and his 13-year old daughter who was riding in the truck with him were uninjured. The Oregonian, quoting Oregon State Police, reported that the truck driver was arrested and charged with drunk driving, reckless driving, manslaughter and recklessly endangering another person (this is presumably a reference to the child in the truck).

Unmentioned by the media, but also worth considering as we think through the legal implications of this tragic Oregon fatal motorcycle accident, is where the alleged driver obtained his alcohol. If a bartender continued to serve the suspect or a store clerk sold him alcohol after he was obviously drunk that person too could be subject to legal action.