As reported by Maria Armental in the November 2, 2011 edition of the Providence Journal, a Middletown man was arrested and charged with driving to endanger-personal injury resulting and failure to stop at an accident-injury resulting. The charges occurred after the man crashed his motor vehicle into a telephone pole. His passenger was injured in the accident and the man fled the scene.
Pursuant to Rhode Island General Laws 31-27-1.1, driving to endanger-personal injury resulting is defined as:
(a) When the serious bodily injury of any person ensues as a proximate result of the operation of any vehicle in reckless disregard of the safety of others, including violations of § 31-27-22, the person so operating the vehicle shall be guilty of "driving so as to endanger, resulting in serious bodily injury".
(b) "Serious bodily injury" means physical injury that creates a substantial risk of death or causes serious permanent disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.
The penalties if convicted include any person charged with a violation of this section shall upon conviction be imprisoned for not more than five (5) years and have his or her license to operate a motor vehicle suspended for no more than three (3) years.
Although it is not clear if police believe alcohol was a factor in the motor vehicle accident, the man was previously charged with driving while impaired.
If you or a family member has been charged with driving to endanger-personal injury resulting, drunk driving – serious injury resulting or drunk driving (DUI) please allow Attorney Robert H. Humphrey's reputation, experience and skill to successfully guide you through the legal process. Please contact Attorney Robert H. Humphrey, Esq., at 401-816-5862 or e-mail him at rhh@rhumphreylaw.com.