DUI Accident, Two Pedestrians Hit on Sidewalk

Treasure Island, Florida.  A man was arrested on charges of DUI with serious bodily injury (a felony) and leaving the scene of an accident with injuries on Sunday night.  Two women who were on the sidewalk were struck and injured by the DUI driver.  Alyn Lee Towne, 69, was driving a 2001 black Mercedes sedan southbound on Gulf Boulevard when he drove up on the sidewalk and struck the two women.  The two women were visiting from New Hampshire and are identified as Nicole Malloy, 31, and Heather Poitras, 35.  Both women were taken to Bayfront Medical Center.  It appears that one woman suffered a concussion and a broken tailbone while the other woman suffered an injured left hip and ankle.  After the crash, Towne kept going for approximately two block where witnesses followed him and got his license tag number to call 911.  As Towne pulled into a private parking lot, other motorists blocked him in.  Those motorists walked with Towne back to the accident scene.  Towne was arrested and remained in jail with a $10,000 bond.

DUI is a serious problem in the State of Florida and is frequently the cause of accidents, injuries, or deaths that would not other wise occur.  Oftentimes, the DUI driver is not injured while the innocent people that are struck are seriously injured.  In DUI accidents in the State of Florida, the victims are entitled to a normal array of injury damages plus punitive damages from the DUI driver himself.  One must be careful however to consider that damages paid by an insurance company are much different than those paid out of the pocket of a DUI driver.  Oftentimes, the DUI driver may be insolvent or bankrupt.  This is why it is very important that you carry uninsured/underinsured (UM) motorist's coverage on your own insurance policy.  Your UM carrier has an obligation to pay you for the coverage that you paid premiums for.  If they fail to pay you the fair value of your claim considering the insurance limits, you may have an action against the UM carrier for damages and for failure to settle when it was reasonably clear that they could have and should have.  If you or a loved one has suffered an injury as a result of DUI accident, please contact a personal injury attorney in the greater Central Florida area, including Lakeland, Winter Haven, Bartow, Haines City, Davenport, or Polk County, Florida to discuss your case.  A consultation with a personal injury attorney is free.