GA College Student Returns to School After Five Years of Recovering After Being Hit by Drunk Driver

Drunk and distracted drivers are responsible for causing a significant amount of car crashes each and every day. While some are fortunate to make it through their trip without causing a car accident, others aren’t as lucky. The unfortunate part, however, is that not only do these drunk and distracted drivers bring harm upon themselves, but also to those that happened to be traveling around them.
Emily Bowman was one of those unfortunate victims whose life will forever be changed. An intoxicated driver struck her from behind while she was walking home and then fled the scene of the accident, leaving her to die. The incident transpired back in 2013. Bowman, who was only 19-years-old at the time, had traveled to Athens to celebrate a friend’s birthday. But, when it came time to “turn in for the night,” as she was walking in the grass along Oak Street around 3:00 a.m., a red Mazda had gone off the roadway, hit her and continued driving. Bowman was left injured and alone.
But, after police got word of the incident, Bowman was rushed to Athens Medical Center where she was placed on life support after suffering a broken pelvis, nose, and was unresponsive. Officials found the truck that had hit Bowman a few blocks down the road that had been involved in another accident along with empty beer bottles in the cabin. It was later determined that 22-year-old William Wilson Heaton Jr. was behind the wheel of that vehicle and he was arrested and charged. He was sentenced to serve 10 years behind bars.
Since the drunk driving accident, Bowman has been working diligently at regaining control over her life again. The accident initially left her unable to speak for nearly 14 months and she was forced to learn how to do simple things such as walking and moving her arms and hands again. 11 Alive reported that a chunk of the right side of her brain is missing, “so she must teach other parts how to send signals to her left leg and arm to move.”
After five years of recovering, Bowman is still struggling but is expected to go back to school at Kennesaw State University this fall through a program for students with disabilities. Bowman attended the KSU prior to the accident but hasn’t been back since. Bowman and her mother now spend time visiting DUI offenders each and every month at Canton City Hall in Cherokee County where they explain to them why they should never drink and driver again.
Sobering DUI Accident Facts
As tragic as Bowman’s accident was, she isn’t the only victim of a drunk driving accident. In 2016, 368 people in the state of Georgia were killed in DUI-related crashes and several others left injured like Bowman[ Source: Governor’s Office of Highway Safety in Georgia]. And to make matters worse, the source highlighted that on a single day in 2017, Judge Jane Morrison dismissed 27 DUI-related cases without ever holding a trial. Some of those offenders were driving without a valid license while others had past DUI charges on their record. And when an offender isn’t faced with the appropriate consequences for their reckless actions, they are likely to engage in the same behavior again.
So, to help combat drunk driving, it is important that anyone who has been affected by one of these careless individuals connect with the Canton, GA car accident lawyers at Imbriale Injury Law who can help you pursue compensatory as well as punitive damages for the pain and suffering you have experienced. A car crash caused by a drunk or even distracted driver tends to have devastating effects on those involved and this team of attorneys wants to be sure you are properly represented so that you are fairly compensated, and the offender is held liable for their negligence.
To learn more about how the accident attorneys at Imbriale Injury Law can help you, give them a call at 678-445-7423 or visit their website at imbrialeinjury.com.
You can always reach Imbriale Injury Law at:
145 Towne Lake Parkway, Suite 200
Woodstock, GA 30188
678-445-7423