If there’s one thing in common with every drunk driver in every state, it’s that the stakes are extremely high no matter where you make the decision to drink and drive. It’s not just that you could get caught by police, though you can. And it’s not just if you do get caught you will end up losing your driver’s license, possibly going to jail, and have to install an ignition interlock in your car. All of those things aren’t just possible when you drink and drive; they’re extremely likely.
But the biggest reason the stakes are so high when you drink and drive is because each and every time you do so you run the risk of seriously injuring or killing yourself or someone else. That’s what a Washington state man found out when he decided to drink and drive and ended up in a crash that injured his own daughter.
Julio Castaneda Antonio is no stranger to drunk driving. He’s had more than four drunk driving convictions on his record in the past ten years, but his last drunk driving crash will be the one he won’t forget. With his wife and daughter in the car, he drove off the road and rolled his vehicle. That roll over injured his daughter’s arm, and although she was injured he asked her to tell the police someone else was driving during the crash.
Thankfully it was only a minor injury, and although she lied to police to save her father from another drunk driving conviction, he was still arrested and charged for vehicular assault, drunk driving, and tampering with a witness because of his request that his daughter not tell the truth.
Now he’ll be spending four years in jail thinking about the fact that he could have easily killed his own child, all thanks to his decision to drink and drive. This is the type of drunk driving fallout that sticks with you for the rest of your life.
The Friday Fallout: Every Friday Guardian Interlock brings you a unique drunk driving case that demonstrates the impact of – or fallout from – drunk driving.