Los Angeles, CA- Keeping a drunk person from driving can be an immense challenge; those car keys aren’t easily coaxed from their hands and they almost always insists they are okay to drive. It’s hard to reason with a person whose common sense is swimming in a sea of alcohol, and it’s equally as difficult to make a drunken driver understand they are putting themselves and others in danger.
Doing the right thing by his intoxicated daughter ended in tragedy for a Los Angeles-area man after she ran over and killed him the Friday before Father’s Day. Why? He was trying to stop her from driving while intoxicated.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Soukvilay Barton, 37, had been arguing with her father and family at the Riverside, California, home when she decided to leave. Her 2003 BMW convertible was parked in garage and as she pulled out of the driveway her father Bounmy Rajsombath, 69, stepped behind her car thinking it would keep her from driving off.
Instead, Barton ran over her father, fatally injuring him. She stopped when she realized what happened but it was too late, Rajsombath was taken to the hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Riverside police told the Press Enterprise, citing witness statements, that Barton had been drinking quite a bit that evening and argued with several members of her family. As she grew increasingly angry, Barton decided to leave, police said. That’s when her father tried to stop her by stepping behind her car.
Barton was arrested and charged with DUI and gross vehicular manslaughter. Her bond was set at $75,000.
According to authorities, this was not Barton’s first run-in with the law from intoxicated driving. In addition to a slew of traffic violations, many for speeding, Barton was convicted of DUI in 2006. So she’s no stranger to the process, and undoubtedly knows how critical it is she hire a DUI attorney to help her with her more recent charges.
This was a tragic end for the Laotian man who aided the U.S. during the Vietnam War and was in danger of being killed. He survived by swimming the Mekong River to get away from Vietnamese soldiers, his son in-law told the Press Enterprise. It’s so sad to think he escaped death when he was in the midst of a war only to be run down by his own daughter at his home.
It’s doubtful Barton wanted to harm her father, but intoxication can make people do stupid things, and now she is facing are extremely serious charges. A DUI has many consequences legally and beyond, will impact many aspects of a person’s life from the personal to the professional.
An exceptional Los Angeles DUI attorney is aware of the many challenges a person charged with a DUI faces. They understand that a strong defense is their client’s best hope of avoiding a conviction or, at the very least, limiting the impact a DUI charge has on their life.
Whether you are facing a simple DUI or a DUI with more severe charges tacked on, you need to contact a Los Angeles DUI lawyer immediately to get head start on your case.
