It’s never a good idea to combine alcohol and drugs, but when it comes to alcohol and marijuana, it actually increases the amount of THC in your system. This can explain the increased amount of impairment when it comes to auto accidents that are blamed on drivers being under the influence of both alcohol and marijuana. In addition, for the first time, the number of fatal accidents where drivers tested positive for at least one drug surpassed accidents caused by drivers who merely had alcohol in their systems. The Chicago Tribune reports on the sentence for a man who had both alcohol and marijuana in his system when he was involved in an accident that claimed the life of an Aurora girl.
26-year-old Anthony S. Potochney received a sentence of 13 years in prison on Thursday, March 29th. The sentencing came after Potochney pleaded guilty on October 27, 2017, to three counts of aggravated DUI and failure to stop after an accident involving injury or death.
The accident occurred on October 7, 2016, as Katie Jonak was riding in the rear passenger seat of a minivan being driven by her mother. Also in the car were two other young girls, all of whom were on the way home from a play rehearsal.
Potochney was driving a 2003 Cadillac Deville south on Broadway when he crossed into the northbound lanes. Jonak’s mother swerved to avoid the Cadillac, but Potochney still struck the left side of the van, where Katie was seated.
He then fled the scene of the accident.
Katie was unresponsive when medics arrived at the accident. She was pronounced dead just a short time later at the hospital.
Four hours after the accident, after he had been taken into custody, Potochney’s blood-alcohol level was .193%, more than twice the legal limit. Potochney also tested positive for marijuana and admitted to both drinking and smoking prior to the accident.
