Maryland Accident Law Blog
Officer Robert T. Krauss, the Maryland Transportation Authority Police motorcycle officer who was injured when he was hit by a van in Baltimore while escorting a funeral possession on December 21, 2005, was given a hero’s burial last week after he passed away on September 1.
Krauss had been undergoing one of several surgeries for his injuries when he died at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center. Rodney Austin, the driver of the van that hit Krauss, has already been convicted for driving under the influence and was sentenced to time in prison. More charges may be pending now that Krauss is dead.
On the Loyola University Health System website, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
· The 15,935 fatalities in alcohol-related crashes in 1998 represent, on average, one alcohol-related crash fatality every 33 minutes. (NHTSA, 1999)
· More than 305,000 people were injured in 1998 in crashes in which police reported the presence of alcohol. (NHTSA, 1999)
· Approximately three out of every ten adults will be involved in an alcohol-related traffic crash at some time in their lives. (NHTSA, 1999)
· Alcohol-related crashes cost society more than $45 billion a year. Just one alcohol-related crash is estimated to cost approximately $950,000. (NHTSA, 1997)
The Loyola University Health System website also says that:
· Alcohol was involved in 17,461 (44 Percent) of the 40,115 traffic crashes that occurred in 1993.
· In 1990, 1.2 million people were injured in crashes involving alcohol. This is 22 percent of all motor vehicle crash victims.
· A total of 394,000 (7 Percent) of all police-reported crashes of all severities in 1992 were alcohol related.
· Alcohol was reported as a factor in 5 percent of all property-damage crashes.
· These alcohol-related crashes, injuries, and fatalities cost society at least $46 billion in lost productivity, medical costs, property damage, and other direct expenditures. Over $5 billion of these costs were for health care.
· Alcohol-related fatalities in 1992 alone resulted in over 600,000 years of potential life lost before age 65 for the victims.
If you or someone you know has been seriously injured in a motorcycle accident because of a drunk driver, contact the personal injury law firm of Lebowitz and Mzhen to find out if you should file a personal injury lawsuit.
Officer Dies 8 Months After Accident, baltimoresun.com, September 3, 2006
Funeral Held For Transportation Authority Officer, wjz.com, September 7, 2006
Transportation, Loyola University Health System
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