Family Compensated for Being Injured by Drunk Driver

A jury in Georgia has awarded 1.78 million dollars in compensation for being injured by drunk driver to the victims of an accident caused by a college student who had been on a weekend drinking binge with his fraternity friends.

Jury members at the Superior Court of Rabun County heard that Stanley Bryant (20) of Mountain City, Georgia, had been returning from a three-day drinking binge with college friends at Lake Rabun in July 2010, when he drove his father´s BMW into the back of a minivan containing the Gonzalez family who were on their way home after attending church.

The force with which Bryant hit the Gonzalez´ minivan forced it across the carriageway and into the path of oncoming traffic. The minivan was immediately in a head-on collision with a vehicle driven by Irma Jo Gregory. Five members of the Gonzalez family and Ms Gregory were rushed to hospital – with the child who was seated at the back of the minivan sustaining a broken fibula and tibia on both legs.

Bryant was found to have a .22 blood alcohol content and was immediately arrested. The Gonzalez family and Ms Gregory made drunk driving accident compensation claim against the under-aged student and, after a three day hearing, the jury announced an award of 1.78 million dollars in compensation for being injured by drunk driver.