Lance Corporal Elijah L. Ferguson of Santa Ana had numerous chances to keep out of his car and avoid a DUI car accident on the night of February 22, 2008. His fellow Marines made several attempts to make sure that the intoxicated Ferguson was not able to drunk drive.
Unfortunately, his friends could not prevent him from causing the wrongful death of an Orange County doctor in a fatal drunk-driving accident. Furthermore, Lance Corporal Ferguson might not have even attempted to brake or avoid the other car. He was speeding at the time of the car crash, traveling 75 mph in a 50 mph zone.
Our firm’s San Diego car accident lawyers know that drunk driving is a major cause of fatal car accidents. While we feel that those that cause a car accident while driving intoxicated (DWI), we also know that these people often need help to beat a drinking problem.
If you have or know someone who could have a drinking problem, get them help. If you have no idea where to go, check out our handy DUI prevention resource page. There you’ll find information about organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous.
This drunk driver has a problem. Ferguson had just attended a briefing about the dangers of drunk driving (DUI) before the car accident. The weekend briefing was one of several that the Marine had already attended. In fact, as prosecutors at his trial said, Ferguson had attended more than 100 such mandatory briefings where Marines were educated that they would likely kill someone if they drove in an intoxicated state.
For his crime in a doctor’s wrongful death, Ferguson has now been indicted on charges ranging from felony murder to driving under the influence causing injury. His blood alcohol level at the time of the car crash was .12. The murder charge had been upgraded from the initial charge of vehicular manslaughter.
Our car accident attorneys in San Diego believe there was no excuse for Ferguson’s behavior. This was a young Marine who had been through over 100 mandatory briefings about the dangers of drunk driving, and knew perfectly well that he could kill someone if he drove under the influence of alcohol.
The “don’t drink and drive” message had been perfectly clear, and yet he chose to take it lightly, causing a wrongful death.
Please feel free to call us now at 1-800-655-6585 or you can click here for a free consultation with an experienced car accident attorney. We have a large bilingual staff that can assist you in either English or Spanish. No fee if no recovery.
About Michael PinesMichael Pines is a former insurance company attorney who specializes in car accident injury. While he was an insurance attorney, he learned from behind the scenes on how insurance companies work and how they decided to pay injured people. Now that he works against insurance companies, Michael's inside knowledge has resulted in significant benefits to his clients injured in car accidents.
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Tags: DUI, U.S. Marine, vehicular homicide, wrongful death
Thank you for all your help