Drunk driving charges are serious charges and should be treated as such. Anyone who is arrested for DWI is entitled to build as strong a defense as possible. Sometimes though, the best defense against charges are to plead guilty. Recently, a woman took this approach and pleaded guilty to several charges stemming from an accident that critically injured two men.

A 32-year-old woman pleaded guilty to two counts of operating under the influence of alcohol and causing serious bodily injury. The charges stem from a 2012 accident that injured two brothers. According to authorities, the woman was going roughly 75 miles per hour when she ran a stop light and slammed into a the men’s van. The driver, now a 44-year-old man, was ejected from the vehicle and suffered severe head trauma. His brother, now 41, was also seriously injured.

The woman was sentenced to 30 months in jail. After serving her sentence, she will also be required to complete five years of supervised probation. During that time, she will be required to remain drug and alcohol free.

This was not the woman’s first offense. In 2002 she struck and seriously injured a man in Florida. The man suffered grave injuries that resulted in his leg being amputated. It is unknown what her charges, if any, were for that accident.

Making the decision to plead guilty to charges as serious as these is not a decision to take likely, but sometimes is the best solution for a person who wants to take responsibility for the actions taken that led to the charges. Advice from an experienced legal professional who has handled these types of cases can help a person determine if such an approach is a good idea. The professional can explain the consequences of pleading guilty versus choosing to defend against the charges in court.

Source: Revere Journal, “Drunk Driver in Powers’ Crash Had Injured Others” Seth Daniel, Oct. 02, 2013