Over on the Howell Law Child Injury Lawyer Blog your attorneys in Charleston posted an entry that gave some quick tips for parents to help prevent child injuries while there out Trick-or-Treating this Halloween. However, this past week in Charleston there has already been a serious accident surrounding the spooky holiday involving two adult men.
Early this past Sunday morning, around 3:00 a.m., at the elaborate extravaganza known as Skinful Halloween a 25-year-old James Island father suffered several broken bones and a serious brain injury that has left him in a coma after being hit by an alleged drunk driver, a 31-year-old man from Summerville, South Carolina. The suspected drunk driving accident happened as many of the partygoers were leaving the event on Folly Road. According to one witness, the 25-year-old man flew 12 feet into the air after being hit as he walked along Folly Road.
The 31-year-old driver has been charged with second-degree felony driving under the influence, and in his bond hearing on Monday bail was set at $25,000, the maximum allowed for said charge. According to reports, the suspected drunk driver stopped at a nearby fire station as soon as he realized he had hit a pedestrian, a note the man’s attorney mentioned at Monday’s hearing.
Despite the alleged misconduct of the 31-year-old driver, the father of the victim placed the blame on the Skinful Halloween event organizers, claiming the party to be a “sanctioned rave” set in “the darkest corner of Folly Road.” On staff at the event were 12 uniformed police officers and more than 20 undercover officers in addition to the security hired by Skinful and a restaurant where part of the event took place. Also, the event employed four free shuttles for the thousands of partygoers and posted an explicit warning on its website for attendees not to walk along Folly Road, noting nonexistent sidewalks. Thus, the question raised by organizers is, “When he [25-year-old victim] made the decision to walk alongside the path, who does the responsibility fall to?”
Although unrelated to the above story, this next incident does concern another topic (in addition to drunk driving accidents) often discussed on the South Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, motorists driving off the roadway and hitting trees in the median.
Last Thursday, a Ridgeville woman driving west on Interstate 26 near mile marker 197 and the Jedburg exit ran off the left side of the road and into the median, striking several trees before coming to a stop. According to the Berkeley County Coroner’s Office and the South Carolina Highway Patrol, the woman was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident from serious head injuries and trauma. Reports indicate the woman was not wearing her seat belt at the time of the fatal collision.
As mentioned in an earlier blog entry, the South Carolina Department of Transportation is thinning trees along portions of Interstate 95 as part of a pilot project called “Timber Management for Safety.” With the high frequency of collisions involving motorists and trees, it is the opinion of your Charleston lawyers that this program ought to be extended to other interstates in the Palmetto State, as these collisions often result in serious injuries and deaths for the motorist, especially when the motorist neglects to wear their seat belt. But, until Timber Management for Safety reaches other well traveled sections of South Carolina interstates, drivers should always wear their seat belt in case of the unfortunate event a vehicle runs off the road in the direction of well rooted trees.