Saturday afternoon a driver crashed into a house, leaving two passengers dead. The driver, Christopher Youngblood, has since been charged with two counts of automobile homicide, according to Unified Police Lt. Justin Hoyal.
Hoyal believes that speed and alcohol were both contributing factors to the crash ending in the death of the driver’s sister and her husband.
The sister and husband were in the back seat when the car, driving south on 5600 West began swerving, crossed over the northbound lanes and then hit a cement wall and a house at Highwood Drive.
There was no one in the house at the time of the accident.
Dye was ejected from the car after the accident.
Driving under the influence of alcohol greatly decreases your ability to drive safely. Having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or more is considered driving while over the limit. There is a difference between that and driving under the influence.
According to DMV.org a person can “receive a DUI conviction if their driving was merely impaired by drugs or alcohol—whether or not a chemical test showed their BAC was above the legal limit.”
Utah’s specific DUI law allows courts to convict you of a DUI if they can show you were under the influence, whether a blood, urine or breath alcohol test shows it or not. For instance, if your BAC is below 0.08% but you show impairment while trying to walk a straight line you can still be convicted of a DUI.
When you drive under the influence of alcohol or other drugs you sacrifice your alertness and motor co-ordination. You will not be able to react as quickly or logically as if you were sober, vision can be blurred or doubled and depth perception is skewed. In short, alcohol slows down your brain and body, putting you and those around you in great danger if you are operating a vehicle.
If you are going to drink then you need to be responsible. Do not put yourself in the situation that requires driving. The average body takes about an hour to process and eliminate just two-thirds of the alcohol in one drink. Plan accordingly.