According to recent news reports from Pine Island New York 63-year-old Stephen J. Morgiewicz of Warwick suffered serious injury after his tractor was struck from behind by an alleged drunk driver 19-year-old Sean W. Quinn. The tractor accident happened around 12:02 a.m. on Pulaski Highway near Sidoti Lane as Morgiewicz was headed south on Pulaski in his tractor and was hit from behind by Quinn who was driving a 2001 Ford sedan. The tractor reportedly split in half and turned over resulting in Morgiewicz being ejected from the tractor.
He was taken by air to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla for treatment of a broken neck and internal injuries. Quinn was taken to St. Anthony Community Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Quinn refused to take a breathalyzer test but police obtained a court ordered blood draw. The results of that test are pending but Quinn was charged with DWI and released. Additional charges may be pending. Initial news reports also relayed that tractors are often in use at that hour to spray their fields when the dew is heavy. Morgiewiczs tractor was also reported to have been fully illuminated.
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Commentary
When a suspected drunk driver cause a wreck that results in serious injury to another person the alleged drunk driver may be held civilly liable for the consequences of their reported reckless behavior even if that driver may also be facing criminal charges. Additionally since the suspected drunk driver is underage the entity that may have furnished alcohol to a minor may also bear liability for such an accident due to New York dram shop laws. In other words if the alleged drunk driver obtained alcohol from a bar restaurant or alcohol-selling establishment and then causes an auto accident resulting in harm to another person the negligent alcohol-serving or alcohol-selling establishment can be held as a proximate cause to the accident. However proving that such a chain of events occurred leading up to this unfortunate wreck can be challenging. As such a third party investigation may be pursued that can look into such issues so that each and every liable party is properly identified and held accountable for their actions.
Texas Personal Injury Attorney Michael Grossman