A drunk driving accident is where a driver is allegedly intoxicated and causes a car crash. This often leads to more serious charges than the typical Driving While Intoxicated case. If the driver only allegedly does property damage, the case usually remains a Driving While Intoxicated under Texas Penal Code Section 49.04. Yet property damage can strengthen a prosecutor’s case that the driver was intoxicated. Many prosecutors seek restitution for property damages in cases like this. Ironically this case strengthen a case for why the driver should be on probation. This is because if a driver is in jail, they can’t work and pay restitution.
Intoxication Assault is where an allegedly intoxicated driver causes “serious bodily injury”. It is a third degree felony under Texas Penal Code Section 49.07 with a possible punishment range of two to ten years years in prison. Yet probation is still an option when the driver has no prior felony convictions. A “serious bodily injury” is more than minor cuts, scrapes, and bruises. A “serious bodily injury” in Texas means a substantial risk of death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss/impairment of a limb or organ. This would mean something like a broken bone that required surgery or a traumatic brain injury.
Intoxication Manslaughter is where the allegedly intoxicated driver causes the death of another person by accident or mistake. It is a second degree felony under Texas Penal Code Section 49.08 with a possible punishment range from two to twenty years in prison. The prosecutor doesn’t have to prove the driver intended to kill the other person. The prosecutor does have to prove the driver was intoxicated and the intoxication was the reason the person died. Sometimes a good DWI lawyer can prove there were other things that caused the accident. This is where an accident reconstruction expert may be a big help.
Texas Penal Code Section 49.08 allows a prosecutor to charge an allegedly intoxicated driver with a first degree felony when there’s multiple victims in the same accident or the victim is a police officer, firefighter, EMS personnel of a judge in the line of duty. This allows a possible punishment between five to ninety-nine years in prison. Probation is still possible in cases like this. Yet it’s rare. These are cases where someone needs a DWI lawyer who has a plan for presenting serious mitigation evidence in case the jury finds the driver guilty.