Alcohol-Related Crash Victims Aren't the Only Victims

It was a hot evening on July 25, 2008. Instead of driving directly home after work, I had to make a trip to my mechanic to pick-up my sports car which just got the fuel pump replaced. On my way home, the road was blocked just a mile from my home. Apparently, a former classmate of mine, Ryan Hock, was involved in a serious car accident. Read about it here:

http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/36914279.html

Ryan's injury occurred when he was hit by Daniel L. Kannegiesser, 36, of Oak Creek, who drifted over the center line of County Highway XX in a Ford van and struck Ryan's Toyota Celica, according to the criminal complaint. His blood-alcohol level was 0.072, slightly under the 0.08 legal threshold for drunken driving. "All I did was look down for a second and the next thing I knew, I had crossed the line," he said, according to the complaint. "There was nothing I could do."

Ryan's life was destroyed and may be forced to live out the remainder of his existence as a vegetable. Kannegiesser was charged with causing great bodily harm while intoxicated, which carries a maximum 12 1/2 -year sentence and a $25,000 fine.

While it's unfortunate this happened to Ryan, it could've happened to anybody, including myself considering the accident occurred on at the time and place I generally would be passing through. This tragedy has hit Ryan and his family hard, but nobody ever thinks about the other guy - Daniel Kannegiesser.

Kannegiesser's BAC was perfectly within the legal limits. Although he had alcohol in his system, it was in a small enough amount to not greatly impair his ability to drive. Yet, he was involved in an accident anyway - not because of the alcohol, but because he momentarily took his eyes off the road, presumably to change the radio or something of that sort.

Kannegiesser's situation can happen to all of us as well. There are plently of times we are not 100% focused on the road. We deal with distractions all the time when driving. Usually these distractions don't cause accidents, but they can and do.

Although the entire situation is unfortunate, the thing that nobody is focusing on is that Kannegiesser was charged with a felony for Injury by Intoxicated Use/Vehicle in addition to failure to report an accident, open intoxicants in a vehicle, and unsafe lane deviation. I agree that Kannegiesser should be found guilty of the three lesser charges (he pleaded no contest), but not the felony charge. The specific charge is Wisconsin Statute 346.63(1)(a):

No person may drive or operate a motor vehicle
while under the influence of an intoxicant, a controlled substance,
a controlled substance analog or any combination of an
intoxicant, a controlled substance and a controlled substance analog,
under the influence of any other drug to a degree which renders
him or her incapable of safely driving, or under the combined
influence of an intoxicant and any other drug to a degree which
renders him or her incapable of safely driving

Twenty years of self-serving "studies," public service advertisements, victim testimonials and political pandering have completely confused and deceived the American public on the subject of drinking and driving, including the 70 to 80 percent of the adult population that drinks beverages containing alcohol

I think it's obvious that the cause of the accident was not paying attention to the road and drifting into a lane of oncomming traffic. I seriously doubt that alcohol was the cause and therefore Kannegiesser should not be held liable (given that his BAC was only 0.072). I fundamentally agree with the positions the National Motorist Association has when it comes to DUI/DWI Laws:

http://www.motorists.org/dui/

If you want to provide financial support for Daniel Kannegiesser's legal defense, his publically listed address according to court records is:

Daniel Kannegiesser
2636 East Sharon Drive
Oak Creek, WI 53154

Our hearts go out to ALL victims, including both Ryan Hock, Daniel Kannegiesser, and their families.