Herman Chandler, of Jersey City, caused a two-car fatal car accident that killed a passenger in the other car and a pedestrian on the sidewalk. In a black GMC Envoy, Chandler was high on drugs and speeding through Jersey City when he slammed into the back of a taxi, setting it on fire and pushing it up onto the sidewalk. Both men killed in the crash were fathers, one on his way to work and one his way home.
Debra Fuller, the wife of one of the men killed, fully described the effect of Chandler’s actions on her family, “I just want my husband back. And there’s no way I can get him back.”
Chandler was arrested on charges of death-by-auto and driving while intoxicated. Driving while intoxicated includes impairment caused by too much alcohol as well as the influence of drugs. New Jersey drunk driving accident lawyers have seen the unfair results of car accidents like this, that result in the death of innocent people while the person at fault is able to walk away, unhurt. Chandler was reported to not have even received a scratch in the fatal crash that his bad choices caused.
Drunk Driving in New Jersey and New York
When someone chooses to drink and drive or to use drugs and drive, he or she is voluntarily putting their own lives as well as the lives of ever other person on the road and sidewalks at greater risk of injury. Drunk-driving accidents, whether related to drug or alcohol use, are 100 percent preventable. Because of this, both New Jersey and New York allow for victims of drunk drivers to pursue additional, punitive damages against the driver.
The problem is, however, that most insurance companies do not cover punitive damages. Punitive damages are amounts above and beyond the expenses of a crash, such as medical bills and costs to fix damaged property. Punitive damages are intended to punish the person who committed the bad act, in this case, the driver who chose to drive while impaired and ended up killing two innocent men.
As Ms. Fuller told James Queally of The Star-Ledger, nothing can bring back her husband or fix what she has lost.
