A pastor died and his three children were injured in a Caldwell County, North Carolina crash on December 6, when a pickup truck ran a red light on Highway 70 near the town of Conover and hit their minivan.
The driver of the truck was Zachariah Carl, 31, and was allegedly drunk when he caused the accident at 6:30 pm. The crash killed Michael Vanderburg, a pastor from Catawba County, North Carolina.
The North Carolina State Police stated that the pastor’s three children were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. They were later released to their mother and other family members.
The pastor died at the crash scene. He was 43 years old and was the senior pastor at Abundnat Life Church of God in Hudson.
The alleged drunk driver was charged with second degree murder and DWI. The police stated that his license was revoked due to a previous DWI. The troopers also noted that the man was driving his work truck and that there was an open container of alcohol in the truck.
Our View
Our North Carolina and Virginia personal injury attorneys make it a priority to represent the victims of drunk drivers, or the families of the deceased drunk driving victims. We completely understand how serious and devastating drunk driving accidents are in North Carolina, and we aggressively seek punitive damages against the at fault driver who has been convicted of DWI.
In each DWI case, we look at the unique circumstances of the case, and find every possible source of insurance so that our personal injury or wrongful death client can receive as much compensation as possible.
In the above North Carolina DWI crash, it is important to note that the alleged drunk driver was in his work truck. It is possible that his employer’s insurance company could be a possible source of compensation for the surviving family of the pastor. Also, this was the driver’s second DWI, so punitive damages could definitely be a factor. This type of DWI case should certainly be looked at by an experienced DWI attorney, because the potential settlement in a drunk driving case can be substantial.
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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