Young mother’s crash and why she is charged with felony DUI
In April of this year, a 19-year-old woman’s mistake resulted in a near worst nightmare. The Tennessee woman got into a car accident in Cocke County. Her infant was in the car and ejected from the vehicle.
Today, that mother is working to get her child back. Fortunately, the baby survived. Still, he is not allowed to live with his mother because of the accident and its supposed cause. The woman’s charged with DUI, reckless endangerment, vehicular assault and more.
According to authorities, at the time of the crash, the woman had traces of marijuana and a prescription drug in her system. This aspect of the Tennessee case should remind the public that they can be accused of driving under the influence even if they have not been consuming alcohol.
This DUI case also serves as an example of why an incident like this is classified as a felony. The suspect had a child in her car. In this case, the child was 2 months old. Tennessee law makes any DUI case a felony if there is a child under 13 in the vehicle. Causing injury to someone as a result of driving while impaired also escalates a case.
Clearly, this woman is living with her own personal, emotional punishment of missing her baby. She is trying to earn back her right to the child following the incident. Beyond the at least temporary loss of her child, a felony DUI conviction could mean jail time and a severe fine.
This case is a sensitive one. When a child is involved, the public notices. Laws are in place to escalate punishment in those cases because as a society, we value the lives and protection of children. Even if someone’s DUI case involves a child, she still deserves a fair fight to receive the form of justice that will best serve her interests and the interests of society.