SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Drunk driving crash no longer driver’s responsibility
Aug 8, 2013, 12:57 PM | Updated: Aug 9, 2013, 7:29 am
A man who was injured in a drunk driving accident is suing the power company after his friend crashed into a pole like the one pictured. A judge has said that's a reasonable lawsuit. (AP Photo)
(AP Photo)
Taken from the Thursday edition of the Dori Monson Show.
Your Washington State Supreme Court has just made a ruling that is going to blow your mind: the Supreme Court has just ruled that a drunk driver and her passenger that crashed into a power pole have a right to sue the power company.
The crash happened back in 2005; Nathan Lowman and Jennifer Wilbur were drinking in a bar in Skagit County, they took off – Jennifer Wilbur was driving, Nathan Lowman was the passenger – Lowman got in the car with her even though he knew she was drinking. On a 25 mile-per-hour road, according to the State Patrol, she was driving at least nine miles per hour over the speed limit when her car left the roadway and hit a power pole.
At the time, Jennifer Wilbur had 0.14 BAC, nearly double the legal limit. And Wilbur pleaded guilty to vehicular assault.
Nathan Lowman’s attorney went before the Washington State Supreme Court to argue that the power pole was just four-and-a-half feet from the edge of the road. And they did have a Skagit County engineer who said there should be a 10 foot zone between the road and power poles.
But still, she was drunk! The passenger knew she was drinking when he got in the car with her.
Lowman has permanent disfigurement of his right arm, according to court documents, and he brought a negligence claim against the driver; understandable, even though he chose to get in the car with her. But he also brought the claim against Puget Sound Energy, Skagit County, and others.
And the State Supreme Court has just ruled that the case can continue and that they can sue the power company and Skagit County.
There is no personal responsibility left. You have a drunk driver and somebody who has been drinking with her and gets in the car with her, and they’re blaming a power pole for them having crashed into it.
You’ll be spending a lot of tax dollars defending all of this, if you’re a rate payer for the energy company … in Skagit County, since they’re one of the defendants. I’m a Puget Sound Energy ratepayer; I’m going to have to pay for this.
These are the times in which we live. There is zero personal responsibility here in Washington state, thanks to the ruling by our State Supreme Court Thursday morning.
Taken from the Thursday edition of the Dori Monson Show.
Related:
Justices: Wash. cities can be liable in DUI crash
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