Howard City, MI — On Tuesday morning of this week, a driver was charged with drunk driving and a local man on his motorcycle was left in critical condition. Police said that Ken Frantz, 58, was critically injured after his motorcycle was hit and dragged by suspected drunk driver Jeremy Gard, 43.
This accident happened around 12:15 a.m. Tuesday morning, April 7, 2015. According to the police, Frantz was riding his motorcycle along Church Road when he was hit by Jeremy Gard’s pickup truck.
Frantz was thrown from the bike, but Gard continued to drive for about a mile, dragging the bike underneath him. The truck and bike eventually caught fire and police apprehended Gard a short time later.
He was arrested for being under the influence of alcohol (allegedly) while Ken Frantz had to be hospitalized with critical injuries. At the last update, he is still in serious condition and is partially paralyzed as a result of the wreck.
Map of the Accident
Commentary:
If this driver was really under the influence of alcohol when this happened, then given the time, shouldn’t someone at least look into whether he had been drinking at a bar that night? The reason I’m mentioning this is that if a bar was involved in getting this driver drunk, then the driver won’t be the only one who may face punishment. Most states have some form of “dram shop laws,” which are laws that govern the sale and service of alcohol. Each state is different, but the general idea is to create some sort of standard so that the state can hold bars accountable for getting people drunk.
In Texas and many other states, the standard is “obvious intoxication.” That means that bars aren’t allowed to serve alcohol to anyone they know (or should know) is obviously intoxicated.
If a bar was involved here, then their negligence might be another factor in what caused this wreck. Obviously, the news doesn’t mention anything about a bar, but I’ve handled enough of these cases that I tend not to take any chances when it comes to drawing conclusions without evidence.
— Grossman Law Offices