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Operation Rolling Thunder a Huge Success in Douglas County

Date: June 8, 2010
Location: Douglas County, Georgia
Event: Operation Rolling Thunder | Douglasville Accident Attorney

According to the Douglas County Officials, “Operation Rolling Thunder” is a huge success stating their have been 82 DUI arrests, 40 drug arrests and even the arrest of a Texas murder suspect. 

Rolling Thunder is a ninety-day state traffic task force established to help decrease traffic accidents. The task force was in Carroll and Douglas counties from March through May. The law enforcement looked to target the most likely to be  high risk drivers and the ones to become involved in auto accidents. The task force ended two weeks ago.

According to the Chief Deputy, 62 seat belt citations were issued, 10 seat belt warnings, 58 child safety seat citations and 3 warnings. Also, the task force apprehended 76 people with suspended licenses, 37 for driving without a license, 182 different citations and 108 warnings.

In 2007, the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety started this task force program to help reduce car accidents and serious injuries by increased law enforcement presence. 

If you have been seriously injured in a car accident that was not your fault, call us at 770-577-3020 for a free consultation.

St. Patrick’s Day: Green Beer Could Result in DUI | Douglasville Personal Injury Attorney

Date: March 13, 2010
Location: State of Georgia
Event: Auto Accident | Douglasville Personal Injury Attorney
Title: St. Patrick’s Day: Green Beer Could Result in DUI

St. Patrick’s Day means festivals, parades, parties, pubs and of course green beer.  Georgia Highway Safety Officials however; want to remind those who are enjoying the holiday to not drink and drive.  The DUI Task Force plans on working with multiple agency performing periodic license checks and watching for those who may be driving impaired. There were 134 fatalities reported last year on St. Patrick’s Day with 50 of those involving impaired drivers.

Bob Dallas of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety would like to remind everyone who plans to consume alcohol to also plan a safe ride home by designating someone to drive or calling a cab when you are ready to leave. He also encourages those drinking to eat sufficiently and alternate non-alcoholic drinks between drinks and most of all to simply pace yourself.

Drunk Drivers Targeted in Douglas County | Douglasville Personal Injury Attorney

Date: March 12, 2010
Location: Douglas County Georgia
Event: Fatal Auto Accident | Douglasville Personal Injury Attorney
Title: Drunk Drivers Targeted in Douglas County

On March 11,2010 Operation Rolling Thunder entered Douglas County Georgia. Several law enforcement agencies including county, city and state have been organized by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety in an effort to decrease the number of deaths on Georgia Highways due to impaired driving. During the March 11 road checks in Douglas County a total of 57 arrests were made with 12 of those resulting in DUI charges. The Rolling Thunder Operation will remain in this area for a three month period and will set up random sobriety check points in this effort to make our roads safer.

According to Bob Dallas, Director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, Douglas County’s roadway fatality rate for 2009 will pass the projected fatality rate by almost 122 percent.  These statistics show the urgent need for this type of program in the area.

Operation Rolling Thunder has help multiple counties throughout the state in combating traffic deaths as a direct result of impaired driving. Operation Rolling Thunder is expected to help Douglas County save lives and change the projected fatality rate drastically for the upcoming years. 

Vehicular Homicide: 30 Year Sentence | | Douglasville Accident Attorney

Date: February 22, 2010
Event: Fatal Car Accident | Douglasville Accident Attorney
Title: Vehicular Homicide: 30 Year Sentence

In August of 2008 Otuwa Otuwa was operating his vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. He was traveling at a high rate of speed on Lee Road near Old lee Road in Lithia Springs when his car left the road and struck a tree. Unfortunately Otuwa age 24 was not alone in the vehicle. His sister, Gracie Otuwa and a friend of her’s Andre Robert Houston were passengers in that vehicle and were killed. On Friday, February 19, 2010 Douglas County Superior Court Judge, David Emerson reduced the nine charges to two charges of vehicular homicide and sentenced Otuwa to 15 years for each death. Both Gracie Otuwa and Johnson had just graduated from college the day before the incident. Family members and friends spoke on behalf of not only the victims but the accused Otuwa as well. They implored the judge to sentence Otuwa to a rehabilitation program.

Murphy and Associates offer their condolences the family and friends of those involved in this tragic accident.

Warner Robins Residents Involved in Serious Accident

Date:   April 6, 2009
Place: Warner Robins, Georgia
Event:  Three Car Crash in Georgia

A resident in Warner Robins, Georgia, was charged with DUI and citied for several traffic offenses including serious injury by vehicle causing a three car crash on U.S. Route 41. According to local police, Jose E. Burgos-Guevara, 29 years of age, was in custody at the Houston County jail for the cause of the accident.

Seven victims were involved in the three car crash on U.S. Route 41 and were taken to The Medical Center of Central Georgia. All the victims were released late Sunday night from the hospital except a 5-year-old boy who suffered serious facial injuries that will need surgery.

The police report states that Jose E. Burgos-Guevara was driving a Ford Ranger traveling southbound on U.S. Route 41. Tomieka Leverson Waller, 36 years of age, was driving a Nissan vehicle traveling northbound on U.S. Route 41. Ms. Waller had her two minor children in the vehicle including the 5 year old boy, who suffered the facial injuries.

John Norman Burrows, age 28, was driving a Dodge traveling behind Ms. Waller’s sport utility vehicle. Mr. Burrows was not alone in his vehicle he had an adult passenger and a minor child in his vehicle.

Mr. Burgos-Guevara was cited for failing to maintain the southbound lane while crossing over into the northbound lane were Ms. Waller and Mr. Burrows were driving. Mr. Burgos-Guevara ran off the east side of the road on U.S. Route 41 before attempting to get back on the roadway, according to the accident report. Mr. Burgos-Guevara’s Ford Ranger sideswiped Ms. Waller’s vehicle, causing her vehicle to spin around before it came to a complete stop in the southbound lane on U.S. Route 41. Mr. Burgos-Guevara’s Ford Ranger rolled and landed on its passenger side and came to a complete stop in the northbound lane on U.S. Route 41.

According to the report, Mr. Burrows slammed on his brakes and attempted to stay clear of the auto accident in front of him, which forced him into a ditch on the west side of the road on U.S. Route 41.

All lanes were closed for two hours because of the crash.

If you have been injured by a driver who was cited with DUI, please feel free to call our office at 770-577-3020 for free answers to any questions you may have.

Distracted Driving More Dangerous Than DUI?

Most of us agree that driving under the influence of alcohol is extremely dangerous. Perhaps many agree that engaging in other activities behind the wheel, no matter how "innocent" the activity, is also a recipe for disaster. But how many of us would consider driving while distracted MORE dangerous than driving drunk?

Based on a 2005 cause-of-accident study, the number of fatalities from traffic accidents involving drunk driving has decreased over the past twenty years while the number of fatalities from non-alcohol-related traffic accidents has increased within the same time frame. Based on this statistic, you are more likely to be injured in a car accident by a distracted driver than by a drunk driver.

It doesn’t take much reflection to associate the changes in culture and technology over the past twenty years with the changes in causes of car accidents. Listening to music, playing movies for child passengers, applying makeup, eating, talking and texting on cell phones, and even changing clothes and painting nails are all among activities research participants admitted to engaging in while driving. Despite recent research, these forms of driving have received far less attention in the media, awareness programs, and law enforcement than driving while intoxicated. Just as drivers who brave the wheel while intoxicated face serious consequences, so should those who engage in other forms of distracted driving, the number one killer of teens in the United States. As anti-drunk driving programs educate the public on the dangers of DUI, programs providing education on the dangers of DD (distracted driving) must answer the call for action as well.

If you or a loved one has experienced injury or loss as a result of another’s reckless driving, call Murphy & Associates at 770-577-3020 for a free consultation.