Des Moines, IA — A woman was injured in an accident police say was caused by an intoxicated driver in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday, March 14, 2015. The accident happened at The View Nightclub, which is located on Indianola Avenue.
Reports say the accident happened when a Ford Mustang headed south on 7th Street ran a red light, drove into the nightclub’s parking lot and crashed into a Lexus, which then hit a woman walking nearby. The Mustang then crashed into the side of the club, causing structural damage.
Ryan George, the driver of the Mustang was arrested by local police and charged with driving while intoxicated, as well as causing an accident that caused personal injury.
The woman injured in the accident has not been identified. She was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The accident is still being investigated.
Scene of the Accident
View from the Road
Commentary
Whenever I see an accident like this, I always wonder if the driver responsible was drinking at a bar before getting behind the wheel. Iowa has what are known as dram shop laws, and these laws forbid establishments that serve alcohol from serving customers who are already intoxicated, or are well on their way. The reasons for this should be pretty obvious. The more someone has to drink, the more likely they are to get into an accident. Unfortunately, there are a lot of bars out there who completely ignore these laws. If a bar chooses to do so, and the person they over-serve goes out and gets into an accident, the bar can be held responsible not only for the driver, but also for anyone the driver may have hurt.
Don’t get me wrong. The drunk driver also needs to be held responsible. But if a bar is ignoring these laws, they’re actively working against them, and should have to answer for that, instead of opening their doors the very next day as if nothing’s happened.
— Grossman Law Offices
