Apparent drunk driving accident kills man in Pennsylvania

A Scranton man is dead after being hit by a car driven by a woman police allege may have been drunk at the wheel. The alleged drunk driving accident took place on Aug. 25 outside a concert put on by popular country music artist Jason Aldean. Local Pennsylvania police have arrested the woman in question, who is being held in custody awaiting the results of a police-mandated blood test.

Reports indicate the 33-year-old man was leaving the concert on Montage Mountain when the accident took place. The 23-year-old woman was driving a late-model SUV when she allegedly struck the pedestrian. Medical personnel arriving on scene rushed the man to a local Pennsylvania hospital, where he was later pronounced dead of his injuries.

Little is known about the arrest, but it is understood the woman was not sufficiently injured to require treatment prior to being remanded to custody. It is unknown if roadside sobriety or Breathalyzer tests were performed on-scene, but a blood test has since been taken and is being analyzed by law enforcement toxicology. An autopsy of the deceased victim is also scheduled to take place.

Accidents in which pedestrians are injured or killed tend to be less clear-cut than scenarios involving multiple vehicles. While it is generally accepted that pedestrians have the right-of-way, it is also possible for the pedestrian in question to have been traveling in such a fashion as to make a collision probable or even unavoidable. It will be up to the prosecution to disprove this potential, and to prove the defendant did indeed cause a drunk driving accident. Defense may benefit from reviewing arrest records to ensure the defendant’s rights were observed throughout the process.

Source: The Times-Tribune, Union Dale woman faces charges in fatal post-concert collision, Joseph Kohut, Aug. 27, 2013