Car Accident and DUI (NOT alcohol, but prescription drug) (Murphy: insurance, attorney)

[apple44]

My 67-year-old mother was involved in a car accident last night. She allegedly ran a stop sign in a residential neighborhood and hit another car. The two cars were totaled. The passenger in the other car was injured and hopefully not too severely (hand swollen, refused ambulance, but probably went with family to the hospital ). My mother's arm and finger may be injured, but otherwise probably fine.

I got there 20 minutes after the accident. The other party must have claimed my mother was driving while intoxicated. So police conducted tests, but refused to let me interpret for my mother (my mother's English isn't very good, I'm sure she didn't understand some of the things they asked her to do). She did not drink (she rarely does anyways), but she takes prescription medication, as most 67-year-old women do I would think. Police arrested her for driving under the influence of prescription drugs. She has been taking the same medication for over a year, and as far as I know, nobody told her she shouldn't be driving. She drives to see her doctor every couple of months to get her prescription renewed!

So she was taken to jail. I am waiting for a bond to be set and get her out. Is this overkill? She may not be fit to drive, but wouldn't it be enough to take her license? What's the point of putting a frail 67-year-old woman in jail for taking her medication and driving? I'm angry and scared and lost at the same time. Should we get an attorney? Anyone has any recommendation? Any advice would be appreciated.

[Wittgenstein's Ghost]

Originally Posted by apple44

My 67-year-old mother was involved in a car accident last night. She allegedly ran a stop sign in a residential neighborhood and hit another car. The two cars were totaled. The passenger in the other car was injured and hopefully not too severely (hand swollen, refused ambulance, but probably went with family to the hospital ). My mother's arm and finger may be injured, but otherwise probably fine.

I got there 20 minutes after the accident. The other party must have claimed my mother was driving while intoxicated. So police conducted tests, but refused to let me interpret for my mother (my mother's English isn't very good, I'm sure she didn't understand some of the things they asked her to do). She did not drink (she rarely does anyways), but she takes prescription medication, as most 67-year-old women do I would think. Police arrested her for driving under the influence of prescription drugs. She has been taking the same medication for over a year, and as far as I know, nobody told her she shouldn't be driving. She drives to see her doctor every couple of months to get her prescription renewed!

So she was taken to jail. I am waiting for a bond to be set and get her out. Is this overkill? She may not be fit to drive, but wouldn't it be enough to take her license? What's the point of putting a frail 67-year-old woman in jail for taking her medication and driving? I'm angry and scared and lost at the same time. Should we get an attorney? Anyone has any recommendation? Any advice would be appreciated.

Sorry to hear that you're dealing with this. A couple things here:

1. You really need to call an attorney. I'm not an attorney, but it seems like this entire issue depends on the exact drug your mother takes. There's nothing inherently wrong with driving while taking prescription drugs. There's a lot wrong with taking some drugs and driving.

2. It's standard practice to arrest people in DUI cases. Exceptions aren't made for being 67 (which isn't really that old) or being female. Our laws prevent discrimination based on age and gender.

An attorney isn't optional here. Again, I'm not an attorney, so take this lightly.....but I could foresee a scenario in which your mother is actually guilty of a DUI and needs good criminal defense, and I could see a scenario in which the police acted wildly out of line and you have a good civil case. It all depends on the specifics of the situation. So call an attorney.

[loves2read]

And your mom probably needs to be prepared to be sued by the other party
Did you contact your mother’s insurance company?

You should look for any others who might have seen the accident—
The fact that your mother’s English is not very fluent might work in her favor in that what the police took as halting behavior due to incapacity was really just hampered understanding because of lack of language

[apple44]

We have found a criminal defense attorney and she seemed to think this is nothing and we don't have anything to be worried about, other than money, of course, which we will need to pay to the attorney, and likely a fine from the court.

Our insurance company said they'll pay the other party's damage up to a limit, which is a reasonable limit. So for now, we just need to take care of my mother, who's having surgery tomorrow.

[MurphyPl1]

You're mother ran a stop sign and was going fast enough she totaled TWO cars?! And injured another person. If she was driving impaired then she damn well needs to go to jail.

[Kenro911]

Originally Posted by MurphyPl1

You're mother ran a stop sign and was going fast enough she totaled TWO cars?! And injured another person.

She ran STOP SIGN! TOTALED 2 CARS! INJURED 1 PERSON! I say straight to the electric chair for that woman, immediately.

If we put every person who caused a car accident in DFW in jail - we'd run out of prison space in no time. Might as well put whole US75 in jail pre-emptively.

[mikestrong]

Originally Posted by apple44

We have found a criminal defense attorney and she seemed to think this is nothing and we don't have anything to be worried about, other than money, of course, which we will need to pay to the attorney, and likely a fine from the court.

Our insurance company said they'll pay the other party's damage up to a limit, which is a reasonable limit. So for now, we just need to take care of my mother, who's having surgery tomorrow.

What was the medication?

[Wittgenstein's Ghost]

Originally Posted by Kenro911

She ran STOP SIGN! TOTALED 2 CARS! INJURED 1 PERSON! I say straight to the electric chair for that woman, immediately.

If we put every person who caused a car accident in DFW in jail - we'd run out of prison space in no time. Might as well put whole US75 in jail pre-emptively.

Obviously the question is whether she was impaired or not. Running a stop sign and causing an accident when sober is not the same as doing it when impaired.

[Diana Holbrook]

Should we get an attorney?

Yes. Absolutely.

[Kenro911]

Originally Posted by Wittgenstein's Ghost

Obviously the question is whether she was impaired or not. Running a stop sign and causing an accident when sober is not the same as doing it when impaired.

Have you driven in DFW on Friday/Saturday/Sunday at night? I don't think there is a single unimpaired driver on the road.

At worst, this lady was impaired as a result of medicine by the sounds of it, not alcohol. Sometimes there are severe interactions for which you did not plan or hope for.

There are tonnes of people driving impaired either with alcohol, marijuana, nicotine (yes that impairs you too) and of the biggest threats - sleep deprivation as well as uncontrolled diabetes. It's not good, but it's a fact of life, quite frankly.

To treat a 67 year old woman who by sounds of it had an adverse reaction to a prescription which impaired her driving as some sort of serial killer is way over the top.

When you build a city that is car dependent for even basic tasks - all of the above are un-avoidable.