Families Upset that Intoxicated Driver Gets Light Sentence for Two Deaths | Dallas, Texas Personal Injury Attorney Blog

A year and a half after the June 8, 2008 crash that killed Meredith Hatch and Michael Alfaro, Kenneth Bain finally pleaded guilty Bain pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter. Bain failed a sobriety test at the scene and was charged with intoxication manslaughter. Police suspect that Bain was under the influence of both alcohol and marijuana at the time of the incident.

Kenneth Bain was sentenced to only two years in prison, followed by 10 years of probation and more than $5,000. As a condition of probation, Bain cannot consume alcohol and must participate in 320 community service hours and substance abuse education. As part of the 10-year probation, he must spend 18 days each year in jail. Those days include 10 days at Christmas, 4 days at Hatch’s birthday and four days at Alfaro’s birthday. Lewis also ruled that when Bain is released from prison, the court will assess restitution that Bain must pay to the victims’ family. Relatives of the victims said they believe Bain deserves more jail time for what happened. “Two individuals were killed because of bad choices, not because of just an accident,” Sherman Hatch told reporters outside of court.

Sherman Hatch, the surviving husband of Meredith Hatch was obviously upset and frustrated with the punishment and expressed his concern about the inequity of the situation. “It just doesn’t seem very fair, just two years for two deaths. Smoking pot and drinking all night long, that’s how the deaths resulted — I guess is what’s the most insulting, hurtful, frustrating part of this whole thing.”

At Montes Herald Law Group, LLP, we aggressively pursue cases against drunk drivers. We are also a supporter of MADD. We are currently working on trying to get support for new legislation to help prevent or to reduce drunk driving crashes by targeting persons who are currently on probation for alcohol and drug related offenses. Like Mr. Bain, people who are convicted of these offenses, as a condition of their probation are usually ordered not to purchase or to consume alcohol. However, providers of alcohol have no way of knowing that these offenders are not permitted to purchase or to consume alcohol. As part of our proposal, we are trying to encourage the Texas legislature to develop a new driver’s license and identification card profile for any person who is on probation for a drug of alcohol offense or any who is seeking an occupational license due to an alcohol or drug related offense. The new license or identification card would display a profile so that so that providers of alcohol would be able to see the person is not permitted to purchase or to consume alcohol.

If you or a family member are a victim of a drunk driver, contact Rachel Montes or Tom Herald at (214) 522-9401 for a free, no obligation case review, or visit our website at www.MontesLawGroup.com for more information about our attorneys and our firm. We are located in the Irving, Texas in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. We handle drunk driving cases across the State of Texas.