La Plata, MD – Tuesday, Jan. 5 was not a good day for Anthony Lee Adams, 37 of White Plains.
Facing visiting Judge Warren J. Krug in Charles County Circuit Court, Adams was in court for sentencing stemming from a violent auto accident on Billingsley Road near Waldorf Dec. 17, 2014 in which he was driving under the influence of alcohol, crossed the center line and struck a car head-on.
The 22-year-old victim in the other car suffered debilitating injuries in the crash.
Krug sentenced Adams to two years in prison, suspending all but 90 days and placed the defendant on five years of supervised probation.
Family members wept openly in the courtroom as the judge handed down his sentence.
According to Charles County State’s Attorney Tony Covington, his office has and will continue to aggressively prosecute DUI/DWI cases.
“Just about every other day someone is killed by a drunk driver in the state of Maryland,” Covington said. “If not today, then tomorrow. The thing is, it is one of the most preventable things in the world. If you drink, don’t get behind the wheel of a car. Have someone else drive you home or call a cab. We prosecute these cases as hard as we possibly can.
“The 22-year-old victim in this case was seriously injured,” he added. “He was flown out to Shock Trauma. This particular youngster, because of this accident, can no longer do the things he liked to do, His leg is permanently damaged. It is hard to believe that someone is so inconsiderate of others, they care so little that they can get behind the wheel of a two or three thousand pound vehicle and endanger others.
“If you want to live in the bottle, that’s one thing,” Covington noted. “It’s crazy how we allow people to drink and still make the choice to do this. It’s very simple. Don’t drink and drive. That’s the law. But we leave it up to people whether or not they’re going to make that choice. It’s crazy.”
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com