Indiana Drunk Driving Accident Attorneys discusses retention pond dangers

At Young and Young we take drunk driving accidents very seriously.  The drunk driver is careless of the safety and completeness of Hoosiers families.  It is our position that if you drink and drive and you seriously injure a Hoosier and their family, you are responsible for fully making up for the harm you cause.  Think of it in a different way, think what you are doing to yourself and your own family.  If you drink and drive, and you seriously injure another Hoosier, or cause there wrongful death, you are going to jail.  You are responsible for making up for the harm you cause to the other family.  You will be taken from your family and deprive them of your company and support.  Drinking and driving causes drunk driving accidents. It is a no win situation.  Do not drink and drive.

In a related note, as your Indiana Drunk Driving accident Lawyers, practicing all over the State of Indiana from our Indianapolis Offices, we are seeing an increasing number of highway accidents where the driver is driving into a retention pond and drowning.  It happens that a high percentage of drivers who drive into retention ponds have been drinking but it is not necessarily so.  Just this week a Greenwood man, Herkimiah Wimbush, age 36 drove into a pond at South Graham and Allen Roads.  Mr. Wimbush was not killed as a result of the initial crash, as he was able to call 911 from his car. It is not clear why Mr. Wimbush was unable to leave the car after it entered the pond.  Our sympathies go out to his family and friends.

Some safety tips associated with being in a car in water, try not to panic.  The pressure on the door caused by the water will keep you from opening it until the water pressure on the inside of the car equalizes.  This means that you will be in water in the car, but you will soon be able to open the door and swim out.  Remember, retention ponds are generally not deep.  They are there to hold water to prevent flood in developed areas.  Therefore, you will not be forced to hold your breath for a long time before you hit the surface.  It may be advisable to carry a hammer or other blunt object to break the window in order to get out.  Also remember just because the car is submerged and the engine is off, that does not mean the electrical system is not working.  If you have electric windows, they should still function, allowing you to bring one down and escape the car.

 We hope you never have to deal with this situation, but if you do, do not panic.  When you panic you do not think straight and your chances of survival go down.