Mother Loses Two Daughters to Drunk Driving Decades Apart

In 1969, a mother of three daughters lost her oldest daughter. The 19-year old daughter was killed by a drunk driver in Richmond. He served 90 days in a county jail. This past summer, the 83-year old Vacaville resident stood inside a courtroom for the second time in 40 years, this time over the death of her youngest daughter, who was 57-year old Walnut Creek attorney Kathleen Moorhead.

Seeing as DUI laws are much stricter now than when her older sister was killed, the family was hoping that the 70-year old drunk driver would receive the maximum penalty – 10 years in prison, reported an observer. The judge sentenced the driver to probation on Monday, and the prosecutor revealed that it is unlikely the man will ever step inside a prison.

The driver had never had a ticket before, and was seen as an upstanding citizen in the community. Numerous people wrote letters and spoke before the judge on his behalf. He was a businessman, having started at the bottom of a local business and retiring at the top. The drunk driving was so out of character for the man that many were baffled. The drivers attorney asked for probation due to the medical history of his client, claimed a family friend.

The driver had had several drinks in three different restaurants before attempting to return home. He hit a median and blew a tire, but continued driving. He scraped the median three more times, eventually hitting it hard enough to bust a second tire. At that point, while he tried on two occasions to dial his cell phone, he lost control of his pickup, veered across all the lanes of traffic, and jumped a sidewalk curb, slamming into Moorhead, who had tried to jump over a fence to save herself, stated a reporter.

An hour after his arrest, the driver blew a 0.15 blood alcohol, nearly two times the legal limit. He was said to have apologized to the family for the injury from the witness stand. He was sentenced to 5 years of formal probation, that if violated could activate a suspended six-year prison sentence, reported a source.

If you or a family member has been injured or killed in a drunk driving accident, a New York Injury Attorney could help you get the justice you deserve. A New York Injury Lawyer will work to bring the driver to justice and ensure that your best interest is looked after.