Man Charged In Accident that Shut Down I-35
In October 2011, an accident so severe occurred in I-35 that it shut down traffic for more than four hours, causing major traffic delays. According to New Braunfels KGNB.am, 25-year-old Aric Thane Whittaker “now faces a third degree felony charge of Intoxicated Assault for allegedly cutting off a tandem trailer Fed-Ex truck,” the initial occurrence that caused the massive pile-up. According to KGNB, Whittaker’s Ford “first hit the center concrete divider and then swerved back across all lanes of traffic.” When this happened, the semi and the truck collided. The momentum caused one of the Fed-Ex trailers to go “skidding across the mainlines of traffic.” The Fed-Ex big rig driver sustained serious injuries and was airlifted to a San Antonio-area hospital. Because Whittaker was intoxicated when the accident occurred, he was arrested and then posted a $30,000 bond. The charge he faces is punishable by two to ten years in prison. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, in 2010, 10,228 people were killed and about 350,000 injured, such as this Fed-Ex driver, in a drunk driving accident. MADD estimates that an annual $132 billion is spent each year recuperating costs incurred by drunk driving accidents. In Texas, more than 45 percent of all driving fatalities are caused by drunk drivers. Perhaps because drunk driving accidents are so common—or in spite or it—insurance companies will often offer an injured party a quick and easy settlement to keep their costs low. Yet without his day in court, people such as the Fed-Ex driver may never be able to fully recuperate the financial losses incurred by the I-35 accident. If you or someone you know has been injured in a drunk driving accident, don’t go through it alone. Contact a dedicated New Braunfels personal injury attorney today.
