An allegedly inebriated driver, who police say crashed his sport utility vehicle directly into an apartment residence community, will return to the courtroom on Monday, Oct. 22. The Tennessee man will face multiple charges relating to the incident, which caused personal injury to several victims who were in and around the apartment complex at the time of the accident. Fortunately, no fatal injuries occurred and while the man will face charges of drunk driving, he will not face charges of intoxicated manslaughter.

Among the five people who were injured in this accident were two toddlers and a pregnant woman. All five people were taken to the hospital to receive medical treatment. The sport utility vehicle driver claims that the accident occurred after he swerved to miss a dog; however, after performing a field sobriety test, police are saying that the accident took place because he was driving under the influence.

Police have charged the driver with drunk driving and operating a vehicle without a driver’s license. The man’s bond was set at $15,000. His first court appearance was on Thursday, Oct. 10 and his next will be on Oct. 22.

Drunk driving charges are serious, and when other parties are injured during an accident, a conviction of drunk driving could open up a Tennessee driver to being more vulnerable to personal injury claims. Therefore, it is important that any driver who is accused of drunk driving, lodge a strategically planned and well-thought out criminal defense. A successful defense may be able to get certain charges dropped. In the best of outcomes the accused will walk completely free of the charges and/or obtain a dramatic reduction in punishment.

Source: wmctv.com, Accused drunk driver heads back to court, No author, Oct. 15, 2013