Just because you play baseball for a living doesn’t mean you’re permitted to possibly cause drunk-driving accidents.

That’s what one Philadelphia Phillie found out when backup catcher Dane Sardinha was pulled over and arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) in Clearwater, Florida earlier this week according to The Philadelphia Daily News.  A Phillies non-roster invitee, Sardinha just signed with the team a little over a month ago.

Our firm’s San Diego car accident attorneys feel that there is absolutely no excuse for putting others in danger of personal injury or wrongful death because you decided to get behind the wheel of your car while intoxicated.  Drunk-driving does not belong on the road, and Sardinha should undergo some re-education on road safety.

Sardinha has spent four seasons in the majors, going between several teams before joining the Phillies in January 2010. He has a lot to learn.  Though he might be 31-years-old and playing for professional baseball, he made the same mistake that a teen driver might make, often leading to tragic results.

Though no traffic accidents, property damage, or personal injuries occurred, Sardinha’s posted $250 bail and was released from the local sheriff’s department within six hours. We think that he — and all drunk-drivers — should be given a DUI prevention class for a brush up on the dangers of mixing alcohol and cars.

The morning he was released, Sardinha showed up to participate in a morning workout not two hours later.  Should he have been enrolled in a Mothers Against Drunk Driving class instead of training for a game?  Should Sardinha’s car been equipped with a breathalyzer on the ignition, which he’d have to breathe into every time he wanted to start his car?

Why aren’t new measures of prevention and stricter forms of punishment being sought for drunk driving, in Sardinha’s and every other drunk-driver’s case?  That’s what our car accident attorneys in San Diego want to know.

If you’ve been injured by a drunk-driver, call us now at 1-800-655-6585 or click here for a free consultation with an experienced car accident attorney and find out how we can help you.  We speak English and Spanish, and we look forward to providing advice for your case.  There is no fee if no recovery.

About Michael Pines

Michael 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.