You don’t have to be in a motor vehicle to get hit by a car in Atlanta. You don’t have to be riding a motorcycle or bicycle or crossing the street on foot. In fact, you don’t even have to be outside.
Police recently arrested a woman for DUI and reckless driving after her car into a Japanese restaurant in Atlanta. The incident took place around 3:30 am, so it is likely nobody was inside the restaurant at the time.
According to a news report, when police arrived, the woman was conscious and apparently not seriously injured, though she was bleeding from the mouth. She claimed she had only two drinks at a nightclub before the crash, but the officers reported a strong smell of alcohol coming off of her. After presumably testing the woman’s breath and coordination, they arrested her on several charges, including DUI, reckless driving and making an unsafe lane change.
What might have happened here?
We don’t have many details about this crash, but it could be that the woman was drifted out of her lane, overcorrected, lost control of her vehicle, hopped the curb and crashed into the restaurant. It’s also possible the driver was in the restaurant’s parking lot trying to turn around and thought she was driving in reverse. But whatever scenario you can imagine, drunk driving is the common element. It’s doubtful this would have happened had the driver been sober.
Fortunately, the restaurant was empty at the time. But if this incident had happened at, say, 9 pm, patrons and workers could have been seriously hurt. And most likely, the driver would have been responsible for their damages under Georgia personal injury law.