DWI Lawyer in Greensboro
Just after 3:30 AM, there was a serious car accident involving a Toyota Rav 4 and a Chevy Corvette. Our DWI lawyer in Greensboro was advised that law enforcement was called to the scene after they received a call around 3:39 AM. This car accident involved these two vehicles and led to a shutdown of the roadway for several hours and police investigated the car wreck.
Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver, Henry Ruggs III, is said to have been the driver of the Corvette. A preliminary investigation revealed that Ruggs’ Corvette rear-ended the Toyota Rav-4. Sadly there was one person inside of the Rav-4 and they died as a result of the accident.
Investigators on scene claim that Ruggs showed signs of impairment during their investigation. In North Carolina, law enforcement conducts standardized field sobriety tests for those people who they have a reasonable suspicion may be under the influence of alcohol or some sort of impairing substance. In North Carolina, they would have typically conducted 3 tests in order to determine if there was probable cause to charge Mr. Ruggs. Those tests are the walk and turn test, horizontal gaze nystagmus test, and the one-legged stand test. These three tests involve various factors which help an officer to make a determination as to whether probable cause exists.
Ruggs, only 22-years-old, and a first round pick of the Las Vegas Raiders. He was a standout receiver at Alabama and has had a great start to his NFL Career. It’s important to note that he has not been convicted of anything, but other he has just been criminally charged with Driving While Impaired resulting in death.
In North Carolina, Driving While Impaired, or DWI, is a misdemeanor charge, however, if you have an accident while impaired and it results in serious injury or death, this ups the charge to a felony. In North Carolina, he would be charged with Felony Death by Motor Vehicle. This only requires the mindset of someone who has a conscious disregard for the rights and safety of others. The factors are Impaired Driving or a misdemeanor traffic charge plus the death of someone as a result of it.
In North Carolina, there’s also a charge for misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, which requires an infraction such as a minor speeding ticket plus the death of someone involved in a car accident. Our criminal lawyers had a case not too long ago where a person was charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle for a passing a bicycle in a no-passing-zone. Important to note, a bicycle is a vehicle for purposes of North Carolina law, and therefore you cannot pass a bicycle just as you can’t pass a car when there’s a double yellow line.
Our top rated DUI lawyer has been told there was a passenger in Ruggs’ car who was injured as a result of the car accident. She was taken to a local hospital and treated for her personal injuries. She is in stable condition according to the most recent reports.
Local witness report that the RAV-4 caught on fire and was completely charred by the time fire crews were able to put out the fire. Our wrongful death lawyer in Greensboro believes this case will involve a whole lot of scrutiny because an NFL player is charged. Our law firm has represented NFL football players and professional basketball & baseball players, and what we find is that media attention for this sort of case is typically not a good thing. Unfortunately, it creates a higher level of scrutiny for the prosecutor and often times the interest of justice being pushed shifts to a different level because they have the public and a lot of arm-chair prosecutors looking over their shoulder.
It’s our sincere hope for the best for all who were involved in this situation. The thoughts and prayers for all of our lawyers in Greensboro goes out to the family of the person who was tragically killed. Stay safe Greensboro and have a great day.