Summertime is a time for socializing with friends and enjoying the warm weather. Often the experience includes alcohol. It is possible for a person to not be aware of how alcohol may impact his or her ability to safely drive a car. Impaired drivers cause many of the fatal motor vehicle accidents that occur in Maryland.

Early on a recent morning police were called to the scene of a crash where a vehicle had collided with a utility pole. When officers arrived, there was no sign of the driver but they found a passenger who was unconscious. The passenger was pronounced dead at the scene as a result of severe trauma produced by injuries suffered in the crash.

The driver was apprehended nearby after a short search by law enforcement officers. He was transported to Calvert Health Medical Center with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. He faces multiple charges, including drunk driving, failure to report an accident, negligent and reckless driving and failure to remain at the scene of an accident. An additional charge for speeding was also assessed.

The death of a loved one in a drunk driving accident can be all the more painful because it is a tragedy that could have been prevented. Drunk driving is the cause of a great many motor vehicle accidents in Maryland, particularly in the summer. Nothing can undo what has already occurred, but a civil lawsuit against the party deemed responsible can provide compensation for medical costs, final costs and other verifiable losses.