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On September 4th in Atlanta, Angel Rivers, 21, was ejected and killed in a fiery crash when the Chrysler in which she was an occupant was rear-ended by a drunk driver.  Witnesses saw Donis Hodges recklessly driving a 2006 BMW M6 just before he crashed into the Chrysler near Hamilton E. Holmes Drive.

Charges  against Hodges include DUI, first-degree homicide by vehicle, following too closely and reckless driving. On Monday, a judge set bond for Hodges at $310,000.  After the hearing, Rivers’ mother, Shatavia Little, told CBS Atlanta she’s angry that the judge allowed bond for Hodges. “This is not like he hit a squirrel. It’s not like he hit a stray dog. He killed a human being. That’s my baby,” she said.

Georgia wrongful death law provides for recovery of the "full value of the life" of the person killed.

Unfortunately, after any such tragic accident, victims’ families are often immediately besieged by "runners" attempting to unethically solicit for lawyers who are willing to risk disbarment.  Georgia Rule of Professional Conduct 7.3 provides, in part: "A lawyer shall not solicit professional employment as a private practitioner for the lawyer, a partner or associate through direct personal contact or through live telephone contact, with a non-lawyer who has not sought advice regarding employment of a lawyer. . . . The maximum penalty for a violation of this Rule is disbarment."

 

As an Atlanta personal injury trial lawyer, I have been pleased to sponsor the Mothers Against Drunk Driving of Georgia web site.  (See the extremely small print with no hyperlink at the very bottom of the home page.)

Now MADD is proposing legislation to require DUI offenders to have ignition interlock devices — an electronic gadget that keeps a car from starting unless the driver’s breath is alcohol-free — installed on their vehicles after their first DUI conviction.  Judges can now require this after the second DUI conviction.

Sounds like a good idea.