Georgia Injury Law Blog
Woman Killed in Wrong Way Driving Accident in Atlanta
A young mother has been tragically killed in a drunk driving accident involving a wrong way driver in Atlanta. The accident occurred on Saturday.
According to the Atlanta Police Department, Robert Ayiteyfio drove his Toyota Camry west on an eastbound lane of interstate 20 and crashed into a Ford Taurus. In the Taurus were a mother and her two children, aged 2 years and 10 months, and her boyfriend. The woman died of her injuries at the hospital while her friend sustained injuries. The children had to be taken to the hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.
Just moments before the accident, an off-duty police officer had seen the Camry traveling in the wrong direction, and called for help. After the crash, Ayiteyfio was arrested on charges of drunk driving, homicide by vehicle and driving the wrong way.
Wrong way driving linked to alcohol use was under the national spotlight this July, when a New York woman drove the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway and crashed head-on into an SUV, killing a total of 8 people, including herself and four children in her car. The family of the driver, Diane Schuler, continues to deny that she had been driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, even after toxicology tests showed traces of alcohol and marihuana. However, wrong way crashes are most often the result of impaired driving.
Wrong way accidents are less frequent, but when they do occur, the impact is severe. These accidents are head-on collisions, and so, typically result in very serious injuries or fatalities. An oncoming motorist won’t expect to see a driver traveling towards him, and may find it hard to stop the vehicle in time to avoid an accident. This increases the impact of the crash, and consequently, the severity of the injuries.
The Atlanta drunk driving accident lawyers atthe Katz Personal Injury Lawyers represent injured victims of drunk driving crashes in Atlanta and around the state of Georgia.