On Saturday, June 28, 2014, the Georgia State Patrol responded to an accident at the intersection of Oak Grove Road and Athens Highway in Gainesville, Georgia, to find a Ford Explorer had crossed the concrete median and crashed head-on into an oncoming big rig truck. All five people in the Explorer were killed in the wreck and only the truck driver survived.
Devastating Crash Takes Lives
The Explorer’s driver, Amanda Lynn Pardue, 34, was later found to have methamphetamine in her system. In addition to Pardue and her children, Kaleigh Emfinger, 8, and Eli Emfinger, 2, their neighbor, Robbie Adams Hollis, 52, and Hollis’ grandson, Dalton Martin, 13, were killed in this tragic wreck. The 34-year old driver of the tractor-trailer, Eric Franklin Eberhardt, was treated for his injuries at a local hospital and then released.
DUI for Substances Other Than Alcohol
Following autopsy blood tests performed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab, Gainesville GSP reported that Pardue had been under the influence of methamphetamine, with blood levels “higher than the highest caliber of 800 micrograms per liter.” In addition to the meth, Pardue’s blood tests showed she was under the influence of a number of prescription medications. People commonly think of alcohol when they think of a DUI, but a DUI applies to any substance that can impair the driver’s ability to safely operate a vehicle. This includes other illegal drugs, such as methamphetamines and marijuana, as well as prescription medications, such as Ambien, Vicodin, Xanax, and Soma.
Finding Help After an Injury Accident
Drivers taking to the road under the influence of a wide variety of drugs, medications, and substances cause accidents and injure innocent parties every day. In the case of a serious accident, lives change in an instant. If you or someone you love has been involved in an accident, an experienced attorney can help you through the legal issues of personal or catastrophic injury, and even wrongful death. Count our Gainesville personal injury attorneys at Van Sant Law, to guide you and help you receive the compensation you deserve for medical bills, lost work, pain and suffering, and even property damage. Visit on the web, or contact them by phone at (800) 234-9556.