Fairfax Legal Blog

Virginia has a drunk driving problem. While the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles indicates that accident-related fatalities declined in 2018 as a whole, fatal accidents involving alcohol actually increased.

Given all of the emphasis on the dangers of drunk driving that is constantly broadcast to drivers, the fact that there was a 12% increase in alcohol-related fatalities on the road between 2017 and 2018 alone, you can bet that Virginian authorities will be on the watch for suspected drunk drivers at every turn.

In Fairfax and across Virginia, drug charges are generally perceived to be related to illegal substances, like cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and other scheduled narcotics. Street dealers, distributors and traffickers are common targets of police investigations. While legal violations related to these drugs will lead to an arrest, people who are trusted with the right to give prescriptions can also face drug charges. Medical professionals who are accused of illegal behavior with prescription drugs must remember that they need criminal defense when arrested on these charges.

A doctor was arrested amid accusations that he gave illegal prescriptions for Adderall. The man, 48, was subject to an investigation by undercover law enforcement. According the prosecutors, over nearly two years, he gave 15,000 such prescriptions. This occurred from Jan. 2017 to Sept. 2018. Pharmacies in the area refused to fill the prescriptions given by this doctor. He had a prior issue with his medical license having been suspended in 2012. This too was linked to prescriptions.

Think that distracted driving just means using your phone while you drive? Texting and driving is dangerous, and it's good to be aware of that. However, the truth is that distraction goes much deeper than texting alone. Anything that takes your mind off of the road -- a cognitive distraction -- may lead to an accident.

Take, for example, a study that showed daydreaming caused about 61% of distraction-based accidents. Drivers didn't look away from the road, but they still didn't see it. They didn't take their hands off of the wheel, but they still were not in control of their cars. Instead, they let their minds wander, and they caused some serious accidents in the process.

A drunk driver caused a chain-reaction of crashes that took place on the Capital Beltway around 3 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day. The events caused multiple injuries, sending a total of six people to Inova Fairfax Hospital, some with life-threatening injuries.

Police received a report of a Nissan Leaf traveling southbound in the northbound lanes. Literally seconds after that report came in, the Nissan and a BMW SUV collided head-on. The impact sent debris flying across the freeway, causing danger to other drivers. Three other vehicles reported damage from the debris. As the parties involved in that collision got out of their vehicles and were standing nearby, a Honda Civic in the northbound lanes struck their vehicles.