Bart Durham Personal Injury News & Blog

Drunk driver hits police cruiser in Nashville

Written by Bart Durham Injury Law | Jan 3, 2013 4:13:54 PM

When drivers choose to drive while intoxicated, they are not only breaking the law, they are putting other people on the road at risk. A recent story in Nashville demonstrates how easily a drunk driver can put others at risk.

A driver who collided with a Metro Police cruiser that was stopped in order to investigate an earlier accident has been arrested on DUI charges. The initial accident occurred on Interstate 40 when a car first hit a wall and then collided with a pickup truck underneath the Elm Hill Pike overpass. Later, the DUI accident happened after the police officer had stopped to investigate an earlier crash and stepped out of his car after turning on the emergency lights of his vehicle. Soon thereafter, a white Toyota Corolla slammed into the pickup truck involved in the first accident and then collided with the back of the parked Metro Police cruiser.

Thankfully, the officer had already exited his vehicle, and he was not injured in the accident. The driver of the white Toyota Corolla was arrested for DUI, as he appeared to be intoxicated. Another driver who had stopped to help the people involved in the first accident said that he had to jump over the guardrail after the Toyota collided with the pickup truck in order to avoid being hit. The man then went to check on the driver of the Toyota and found that he was so intoxicated that he could not get out of the car.

It is remarkably fortunate that no serious injuries were reported as a result of the accident. The driver of the white Toyota Corolla was taken into custody and a breathalyzer test was conducted. It was found that the driver had a 0.186 percent blood alcohol content.

Source: NewsChannel5.com, "Metro Police Cruiser Struck By Suspected Drunk Driver," Dec. 18, 2012