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12-Year-Old North Carolina Boy is in Critical Condition Following Greensboro Drunk Driver Accident

In North Carolina, a 12-year-old Greensboro boy is in critical but stable condition after a drunk driver hit him last Tuesday afternoon. Drew Gardner and Taylor Rhynehardt were playing near a creek bed when a van, driven by Michael Charles Parks, rolled through a stop sign and drove through 40 yards of wood before striking Gardner and then crashing into a tree.

Gardner, who is at Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, sustained two collapsed lungs, eight fractured ribs, a broken collarbone, and skull fractures. He has been sedated and unconscious a majority of the time since the North Carolina auto accident.

Rhynehardt, who was not hit by the van, sustained less serious physical injuries when the tree broke and fell on him. However, he told a local TV news program last week that he has not been able to close his eyes without reliving the accident.

Greensboro police have charged Parks with driving with a revoked license and driving while impaired. They say more charges are likely. However, the 40-year-old has not been arrested for his involvement in the crash.

This is not Parks?s first DWI offense. He has one prior DWI conviction, while two other DWI charges that were dismissed.

NHTSA 2007 Children and Traffic Accident Facts
? 200,000 children, age 14 and under, were injured in motor vehicle crashes last year.
? 245 of the 1,670 kids in this age group were injured in drunk driving accidents.
? 306 children, age 14 and under, died in pedestrian accidents in 2007.
? 14,000 kids sustained pedestrian-related injuries.
? In North Carolina, 54 child pedestrians, age 14 and younger, died in traffic accidents.

If your son or daughter was seriously injured in a North Carolina or South Carolina traffic accident, you and your family may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against the negligent party.

Boy hit by van is critical but stable, News-Record.com, November 15, 2008

Other Boy Injured In DWI Crash Speaks Out, Digitriad.com, November 11, 2008

Children, 2007 Traffic Safety Facts, NHTSA

Related Web Resource:

2007 Traffic Safety Annual Assessment -- Alcohol-Impaired Driving Fatalities, NHTSA, (PDF)

Full post as published by North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog on November 17, 2008 (boomark / email).