19-Year-Old Driver Was DUI in Maryland Car Collision that Killed 17-Year-Old Sunderland Teenager

Kevin Stavely, a 17-year-old teenager from Sunderland, Maryland, died last Saturday in a single car accident in Huntington. Stavely was riding in a car being driven by 19-Year-old David M. Clark. According to police, Clark was driving under the influence of alcohol when the accident happened at Shelley’s Crossing and Walnut Creek Road.

Authorities say that Clark lost control of his 2000 Subaru, which left the road and hit the edge of a driveway before flying into the air, sliding across the road, hitting a curb, and landing in a ditch. Stavely, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown out the back windshield. He was later declared dead at the accident scene. Clark and another passenger had both been wearing seatbelts and were not hurt in the crash.

Clark was allegedly speeding and intoxicated. He has been charged with homicide by motor vehicle while under the influence, as well as 10 other charges that include failure to reduce speed to avoid collision and DUI.

Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association Offers the Following National Teen Driving Statistics for 2005:

• Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers.
• 16 year-olds have higher crash rates than drivers of any other age.
• 16-year-olds are three times more likely to die in a motor vehicle crash than the average of all drivers.
• 3,467 drivers age 15-20 died in car crashes in 2005.
• Drivers age 15-20 accounted for 12.6 percent of all the drivers involved in fatal crashes and 16 percent of all the drivers involved in police-reported crashes in 2005.
• Graduated drivers license programs appear to be making a difference. Fatal crashes involving 15- to 20-year olds in 2005 were down 6.5 percent from 7,979 in 1995, to the lowest level in ten years.
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates the economic impact of auto accidents involving 15-20 year old drivers is over $40 billion.
• According to a 2005 survey of 1,000 people ages 15 and 17, conducted by the Allstate Foundation:
o More than half (56 percent) of young drivers use cell phones while driving,
o 69 percent said that they speed to keep up with traffic
o 64 percent said they speed to go through a yellow light.
o 47 percent said that passengers sometimes distract them.
o Nearly half said they believed that most crashes involving teens result from drunk driving.
• 23 percent of teen drivers killed in 2005 were intoxicated, according
to NHTSA.

• Statistics show that 16 and 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger (IIHS).

If you are seriously injured in a car accident because of another driver’s negligent actions, you may have grounds to file a personal injury claim. If someone you love was killed in an accident, you may be able to file a wrongful death claim.

Lebowitz and Mzhen handles every kind of personal injury case for victims injured in Maryland and Washington D.C. We have the resources and experience to properly represent you. We also represent personal injury cases where the victims are minors.

Contact Lebowitz and Mzhen to schedule your free consultation.

17-Year-Old Dead After Car Accident, 19-Year-Old Driver was DUI, Southern Maryland Online, July 2, 2007
Teen Driving Statistics, RMIIA.org

Related Web Resources:

What Young Drivers Need to Know About Driving, Drinking, and Drugs, MVA
DUI V. DWI, Dmv.org

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