Bakersfield Father Killed In Drunk Driving Accident

The three-day Labor Day weekend holiday started off tragically for a Bakersfield family. A young father was killed in a drunk driving accident late on Friday night.

According to Bakersfield Online, 28-year-old Rigoberto Palomares was operating a farm harvester when a pickup truck crashed into the machine. Both the pickup and the harvester overturned, and Palomares ended up under the farm machine. He was rushed to the Kern Medical Center, but died soon after. The driver of the pickup truck, Rogelio Zaragoza was arrested for driving under the influence.

Palomares had a young son, and his girlfriend is 8 months pregnant with their second child. Zaragoza is likely to face three felony charges, including one for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

This was a Labor Day weekend that started out badly for Rigoberto Palomares and his family, but across Bakersfield and the state, special teams of law enforcement officers were out in full force to prevent intoxicated motorists from driving over the weekend. In Bakersfield, around 30 people were arrested over the weekend. Officers taking part in the "Avoid" project were out in Kern County making arrests.

Crackdowns on major holidays have become an almost routine feature of safety efforts in California. Law enforcement officers take to the streets in a big way during major holidays from Thanksgiving to New Years Eve, to keep intoxicated motorists off the streets. These holidays see peak traffic when thousands of motorists take to the highways to visit family and friends. The majority of these people will be sensible enough not to drive when they are too impaired to do so. However, there is a minority of holiday travelers who think nothing of driving under the influence. These people may be fewer in number, but they will cause the several accidents that take place over every major holiday.

Many of these auto accidents like the one that killed Rogoberto Palomares will be fatal, shatter families and destroy lives. However, with these crackdowns, fewer families will get that dreaded phone call.

Across California, drunk driving accident fatality rates have been declining steadily over the past decade. According to the "Avoid" project representatives, these rates in California are down by approximately 6.7 percent. There has been a reduction in the overall tolerance to drunk driving. California drunk driving accident lawyers have noticed that the public is less likely to tolerate people driving under the influence.

Families of victims of drunk driving accidents may be eligible for wrongful death damages. These lawsuits play a big role in holding a motorist responsible for their actions, and help the family of the victim in their search for closure. Wrongful death lawsuits can also have a practical impact. Families of victims who are left behind after an accident may have their stresses compounded by financial worries. These will begin soon after the accident in the form of funeral and burial expenses, as well as costs of medical treatment if these apply. Besides, wrongful death damages may also compensate for lost income of the deceased and loss of consortium for the spouse of the deceased.