Community members continue to criticize a 29-year-old man from Peoria, who was arrested on Saturday for driving under the influence when a 5-year-old was a passenger in the vehicle.
ABC News reports that Matthew Lebario was driving westbound on Cactus Road near 75th Avenue in Peoria, but crossed into the eastbound lane and hit another vehicle traveling in the opposite direction. The driver that had her car hit suffered from non life-threatening injures and was taken to a Valley hospital for treatment.
The 5-year-old that had been riding in the car with Mr. Lebario, while he was allegedly drunk, suffered from just a small bump on the head, according to the Arizona Republic. The child was picked up at the scene of the accident by a family member. The child was reportedly the daughter of one of Mr. Lebario's friends.
If charged with driving under the influence, Mr. Lebario will likely need a skilled Arizona DUI attorney by his side, since driving under the influence with a passenger who is a minor leads to more severe penalties. Arizona authorities are still investigating the incident. Peoria police spokesman Jay Davies told the Arizona Republic that investigators found "a lot of open alcohol containers" in Mr. Lebario's truck truck after the collision. He was processed on Saturday and then booked on suspicion of DUI.
The website DUI-Information.org reports that DUI offenders can often receive enhanced penalties from a judge in Arizona if a person is caught with a child in the car while that person is driving while impaired. Sometimes, those individuals are even charged with child endangerment.
Related Resources:
- What Could Be Worse Than Drunk Driving? (FindLaw KnowledgeBase)
- Defenses to Drunk Driving (FindLaw)
- Arizona DUI Attorney Directory (FindLaw)
