Man Admits DUI in Death of ODU Student in Norfolk

A court hearing in Norfolk last week has exposed the tragedy of drunk driving and how alcohol can claim innocent lives.

In this case the life in question was that of Tyler Allan Carnes. He was just 21 and was a student at Old Dominion University, reported the Virginian-Pilot. This young man should have had years ahead of him. He was driving to his mother and stepfather’s house on July 10, 2014 when tragedy struck.

The student’s car broke down on the shoulder of Interstate 64 near the Military Highway exit in Norfolk. He turned on his hazard lights and called AAA for help. The report said both a Department of Transportation worker and a state trooper stopped by to check on him. Carnes sat in the driver’s seat exchanging messages with his stepfather when a 2001 Ford Explorer driven by Robert Glenn Horton plowed into the back of Carnes’ car.

The impact was devastating. Carnes suffered massive brain damage trauma and was removed from life support the next day.

The Virginian-Pilot reported that Horton, 48, pleaded guilty last week to one count of involuntary manslaughter. The report stated he failed sobriety tests after the wreck and registered a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.06 two hours after the accident. He is due to be sentenced on October 30.

Evidence submitted to the court stated Horton was either in the left land or “merging from the east-bound HOV lanes when he went straight out of the left lane and drifted slowly onto the shoulder, crashing into the back of the student’s car.

Horton’s truck hit Carnes’ car so hard it was pushed 200 feet down the shoulder and pushed the back seat of the student’s car almost on top of the front seat.

Drunk driving is more prevalent than we may think on the highways of Hampton Roads. In April we noted how two drivers were charged with DUIs over an accident in Virginia Beach that claimed the life of a 33-year-old woman. Virginia Beach police said a 2008 Chevy Malibu was traveling southbound on Newtown Road when the driver tried to make a left turn onto Greenwich Road and was hit on the passenger side by a 2004 Ford Mustang traveling northbound on Newtown Road. The woman who was killed was a passenger in the Chevy Malibu.

Every year more than 8,000 accidents in Virginia are caused by drunk drivers. Our experienced Virginia DUI accident attorneys can help you if you have been injured by a drunk driver. Call Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers at 757.455.0077 or see CooperHurley.com.