Minneapolis, MN — Police arrested Ewan Leask after he crashed his Jeep Wrangler into two female students at the University of Minneapolis, on Monday, December 1, 2014. The accident took place at the intersection of Interstate 35W and University Avenue SE.
Leask would later tell police that he was drunk and high at the time of the accident. Before police arrived on the scene, he reportedly begged witnesses not to tell anyone what had just happened.
He blood alcohol content was more than twice over the legal limit.
The two students Leask crashed into were identified as Lanxiao Song and Zifei Guan. Both women suffered concussion in addition to other injuries.
Witnesses to the accident said Leask was speeding before the accident, and hit the two women as they were walking trough a crosswalk. Leask has had four drug-related convictions in the past eight years. Police are continuing to investigate.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary
If Leask was drinking at a bar before the accident happened, it’s possible the bar could be held partially liable for the accident. Reports make it sound as if he was very drunk when police finally talked to him, and in Minnesota, establishments that serve alcohol are forbidden from serving customers who are obviously intoxicated. Several states have similar laws, and they’re very often ignored. Many think they only serve to help offenders escape responsibility for their actions, which couldn’t be further from the truth. An offender made the decision to get behind the wheel of a vehicle, and they should be held accountable for that. However, if a bar served someone who should have been cut off, and that person goes out and gets into a wreck, isn’t the bar at least partially responsible for that? If every bar that could be responsible for that was held responsible, eventually it’d stop happening. Even if a bar wasn’t involved, the girls are going to be perfectly within their rights in bringing a claim against the driver. Behavior like this can’t be tolerated.
— Grossman Law Offices
