David Benito died two weeks ago when a drunk driver ran a red light and collided with his vehicle. 41-year-old Matthew Tyler Kim was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated in Linda Vista after a field sobriety test.
Benito was riding with his 19-year-old brother, who was treated at Sharp Memorial Hospital for non-life threatening injuries. Benito and his brother were blocks away from their house when the accident occurred. They were returning from a visit to Mexico.
Preliminary evidence suggests the suspect ran a red light. Kim was booked in San Diego Central Jail and is being held without bail until his arraignment. The accident remains under investigation.
Driving while drunk or intoxicated is dangerous to every driver on the roadway. Driving with an elevated blood alcohol concentration exponentially increases the risk of a car accident. Every single injury and death attributed driving while drunk is preventable. Even though the rate at which these accidents occur has dramatically dropped, there remain far too many of these preventable accidents.
The facts:
- The average BAC among fatally injured drinking drivers is .16
- The relative risk of death for drivers in single-vehicle crashes with a high BAC is 385 times that of a zero-BAC driver. For male drivers the risk is 707 times that of a sober driver, according to estimates by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
Bonnici Law Group handles each case personally, and he passionately seeks justices for victims of drunk drivers. Schedule a meeting with our San Diego law firm. We work on a contingency basis, which means a consultation is free and you do not need money up front to have access to a qualified attorney. Call us today (619) 853-5101.
Did You Know?: High BAC drivers tend to be male, aged 25-35 and have a history of DWI convictions, according to a 2007 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Bonnici Law Group, APC—San Diego personal injury lawyer