Accident with school bus lands driver in jail on DWI charges

The Associated Press reported the recent story of a man from Lawrenceburg who was charged with drunk driving after getting into a wreck with a school bus earlier this month.

The accident occurred on Wednesday, Aug. 11, as the bus driver was transporting high school and elementary school children back home on the afternoon run. According to police reports, the bus backed into the 35-year-old man’s car, causing two schoolchildren to be injured and have to be transported to a local hospital.

Police arrived and suspected that the man was intoxicated. His blood alcohol content wound up being triple the legal limit for the state of Kentucky, which is .08. Officers arrested him on charges of disorderly conduct, possessing an open beverage containing alcohol in his vehicle and operating his motor vehicle while under the influence.

Here in Kentucky, drivers convicted of first offense DWI have to spend a minimum of two days in jail. A second offense conviction nets them a week behind bars. But there are additional fines and penalties, too, including:

— Administrative suspension of your driver’s license for 120 days.

— Enhanced penalties when the BAC exceeds .18.

— Minimum first offense fines of $200; second offense minimum fine of $350.

— Average rate increase of 48 percent on auto insurance.

— Additional penalties when children are endangered.

As the above story illustrates, a drunken driver does not even have to be the one at fault if an accident occurs to face charges of DWI. Penalties can be steep and have long-lasting consequences, which makes it imperative to launch a stalwart defense to the allegations as soon as possible following an arrest.

Source: WLEX, “Man Arrested For Driving Drunk After Crash With Bus,” The Associated Press, Aug. 11, 2016