Hit Head-On by a Drunk Driver on Highway 101

On a beautiful Oregon summer day, a drunk driver was driving erratically on Highway 101 when he lost control of his vehicle, crossed the centerline, and hit an oncoming car head-on. Both vehicles were totaled. The drunk driver was arrested for DUII, reckless driving, and assault III.

The other driver, Ellen, was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where she remained for several days. She had multiple left rib fractures, hand and finger fractures, a lower leg fracture and laceration, and a laceration of the abdominal wall. After she was discharged from the hospital, she was referred to orthopedic specialists for her hand injury and for her ankle injury.

The orthopedists treated Ellen’s hand and finger fractures with a cast and different splints, then later a brace. Weeks later she still could not lift more than a cup of coffee with the injured hand. They treated her ankle fracture primarily with physical therapy. Ellen was also referred to a counselor to help treat her anxiety with driving after the collision. Ellen had to miss work completely for nearly three months, and then was released to go back to work only with restrictions.

As too often seems to be the case, the drunk driver was not a financially responsible person. He was driving his mother’s car, and did not have auto liability insurance of his own. In situations like this, there are often painful limits on what the law can do to help survivors of crashes caused by DUI drivers. We collected all that was available, but from our point of view, it wasn’t enough.

Injuries from crashes caused by intoxicated drivers are a too-frequent and incredibly serious problem. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that every day, about 32 people in our country die in drunk-driving crashes — that’s one person every 44 minutes. In 2024, 11,904 people died in alcohol-impaired driving traffic deaths. These deaths were all preventable.

Ellen was one of the “lucky” ones who was injured, not killed. Mothers Against Drunk Driving reports that over an estimated 360,000 people are injured in drunk driving crashes annually in the United States.

The message that it’s not okay to drink and drive has been out there for many years, but the carnage on our roads continues. It may not be a popular subject, but is it time to consider lower blood alcohol limits for auto drivers? Commercial drivers generally have a limit that is half of what is allowed for automobile drivers. Many developed countries have a 0.05% limit, instead of Oregon’s 0.08% limit; some countries do not allow a driver to have any alcohol in their bloodstream at all.

There are other safety ideas that have been discussed but have not gotten off the ground in Oregon. One is to have more protections from alcohol sellers and servers. Once a person’s judgment is impaired by alcohol, they may not be able to accurately judge their ability to drive. Sober alcohol providers are often in the best position to protect the rest of us from a real risk of harm.

We think our society has generally been doing a better job of imposing criminal consequences on drivers who drink, drive, and injure or kill. But unfortunately, that has not been enough to protect us. It’s worth having a conversation about; the safety of all of us and our families is at stake.