A Douglas County, Georgia woman has been charged with criminal offenses involving drunk driving after a collision early last Monday morning resulted in two deaths of innocent motorists. The Atlanta press reported that Natasha Searcy, 22, was driving drunk in her 1998 Pontiac when she crossed the center line, striking a car driven by 25-year-old Ashley Ingalsbe.
Searcy has been charged with vehicular homicide in the first and second degrees, driving under the influence, not having insurance and failure to maintain lane, and was denied bond.
The press reported that Luke Ingalsbe, 4, died in the crash. Ashley Ingalsbe died Monday afternoon, and Ashley Ingalsbe’s 2-year-old son Jacob and her boyfriend, Thomas Vinnacombe, were also seriously injured.
This incident follows a recent effort by the United States Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, to crackdown on impaired driving. Earlier this month, NHTSA released a new study that revealed an increasing trend among women driving under the influence of alcohol. The study showed an alarming increase of female alcohol impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2008 compared with 2007.
The NHTSA study also referenced FBI data showing that arrests for women driving under the influence increased nearly 30% over the 10 year period from 1998 to 2007, while arrests of men for the same offense decreased by 7.5%.
According to NHTSA impaired driving women has become a national safety issue. Overall about 2,000 fatalities a year involve impaired female drivers.
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