Posted on May 29, 2012

According to MADD, the average first time OWI offender has driven drunk at least 80 times before his first conviction. Our Milwaukee car accident attorneys wonder what the average is for repeat offenders.

A 55-year-old man has been charged with OWI after crashing his motorcycle into an SUV. The man’s has ten prior OWI convictions.

The De Pere accident occurred on Wednesday, May 9. Patrick Moore was driving a Harley-Davidson motorcycle on the Claude Allouez Bridge. He became distracted by a problem with his turn signals and crashed into the rear of a black Chrysler SUV. Moore suffered a cut to his head and hand; the driver of the SUV was not injured.

After the accident, the officer at the scene noticed signs of intoxication. Moore slurred his words, repeated himself, and fell off his motorcycle while talking to the officer. Although he admitted to drinking two beers with his lunch about an hour before the accident, Moore refused sobriety testing. He was later given a blood test at Aurora BayCare Medical Center in Green Bay.

Moore was charged with felony operating while intoxicated. He has ten prior OWI convictions; the most recent was in 2006. If convicted, Moore faces a minimum of four years in prison. However, he may serve up to 12 years and six months. He also faces fines that may be as much as $25,000 or more, depending on his blood-alcohol content at the time of arrest.

Moore was driving on a valid Wisconsin driver’s license. Although Moore was caught driving while intoxicated eleven times, there is a good chance that these weren’t the only times that he got behind the wheel while drunk. Seventy percent of DWI offenders have alcohol abuse problems.

If you or a loved one was injured in a Wisconsin drunk driving crash, you deserve accountability. Contact the Milwaukee car accident attorneys at Hupy and Abraham at 800-800-5678 to learn more.