An early morning car accident has seriously injured a woman and has one man charged with driving under the influence.

In a report from the Hartford Courant, the two-car accident occurred early hours, about 2:40 in the morning on Sunday.  Harford police placed the accident in the area of 888 Park Street, near Zion Street.  A woman, reported to be 70 years old was critically injured in the accident and had to be extricated from the car.  Police have not yet released her name but due to the severity of her injuries, the police dispatched the Crime Scene Division to the crash site to conduct a full investigation of the accident.

The driver of the car that struck and injured the woman was driven by Carlos Roman, 35 years old from Madison Street in Hartford was arrested at the scene as he was suspected of driving under the influence.  Mr. Roman was later charged with this offense.

When a driver is arrested under the influence this site indicates that for a first offense, an Ignition Interlock Device or IID will be installed.  It isn’t known if this was Mr. Roman’s first DUI offense but given that there is a serious injury, in this case, it is expected that Mr. Roman has a far more difficult legal challenge in front of him.

According to the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles website, you are legally impaired if your Blood Alcohol Content is 0.08% or higher.   The site further explains that if the courts determine that a 2nd-degree manslaughter crime has been committed with a Driving Under the Influence or Driving While Intoxicated situation that the person charged with this can face up to 10 years imprisonment and/or $10,000 in fines.  In the case where a serious physical injury has occurred in these conditions, the charged person can face up to 5 years in prison with up to $5,000 in fines.

Given the serious nature of the injuries to the unnamed woman, it would appear that Mr. Roman is facing some serious legal issues that could land him in prison for years.  The condition of the unnamed woman will have a material impact on how the court prosecutes his case.  Further, Mr. Roman is likely to face civil tort claims by the family of the woman injured in the crash.  At a minimum, it would appear that there will be pain and suffering, loss of the ability to enjoy life and other claims related to her injuries and in the most unfortunate case, if she does not survive her injuries, a wrongful death claim against him should be anticipated.

Dehghani and Associates, LLC is a full-service law firm with offices in New Haven, Connecticut. We practice in the areas of personal injury and wrongful death, immigration, medical malpractice, worker’s compensation and criminal defense. Contact us today for a free consultation.