Bakersfield Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Fatal Drunk Driving Accident
A Bakersfield man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in a fatal drunk driving accident that killed two people. Michael Montgomery was driving the vehicle during the accident that killed 29-year-old Cicero Goddard and Rianna Zamarripa. Montgomery apparently lost control over the vehicle and crashed into a tree. He had been driving under the influence at the time. He has now been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Montgomery’s family had been hoping for a short sentence. They argued that incarceration will separate him from his children. Besides, they argued, he had suffered serious injuries in the crash. However, the judge has sentenced him to 20 years on one count of gross of vehicular manslaughter. Under an agreement, four other charges were dismissed. Families of victims who have lost loved ones in drunk driving accidents may be eligible for compensation from the negligent driver. Families and survivors of the deceased may be eligible for compensation, including compensation for potential future wages of the deceased, funeral and burial expenses and hospitalization expenses if any were incurred before death. Filing a wrongful death lawsuit can be painful for the families of the diseased. It’s easy to assume that money will not really ease the pain of the loss, and so suing does not serve a purpose. Although money does nothing to bring back the deceased and will do nothing to make victims feel whole again, that shouldn’t be a reason to let the person responsible for the death get away without having to face the consequences. Civil litigation is just part of the punishment that a drunk driver faces after causing an accident. A wrongful death lawsuit may help you get closure. Closure may not come easily, but holding a person accountable for the death of your loved one can help you get there. Families may also feel uncomfortable about placing a value on the life of their loved one. This part that can seem distressing to families. A claim however, can include many very practical factors that you may not consider when you are grieving. For instance, the loss of the breadwinner of a family will prove financially distressing for the survivors not just in the immediate future, but over a period of time. A California wrongful death lawyer can help prepare a claim that includes all the benefits that are rightfully yours. The number of drunk driving accidents has declined over the past years as law enforcement agencies have undertaken drunk driving enforcements regularly. Law enforcement agencies do a good job of keeping drunk motorists off the street. That, in combination with initiatives that educate motorists about the dangers of drunk driving, have gone a long way to keep these motorists off the roads and reduce the incidence of alcohol-related car accidents. However, we still have a long way to go before we can bring the number of drunk driving accidents down to where they need to be. The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of drunk driving accidents . Please visit our website at trlglaw.com . If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us . The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.
Read the original here:
Bakersfield Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Fatal Drunk Driving Accident