Last week, a 49-year-old grandmother was found guilty of killing her 19-month-old granddaughter in a 2011 St. Louis drunk driving auto accident.

After celebrating the July 4th holiday with friends and family, the woman’s blood alcohol content was nearly three times the legal limit when she sped off a highway exit ramp at 69 mph, crashing her car. The car landed upside down after crashing in quick succession into a street sign, house, tree and fence. Recovered from the wreck, the car’s black box showed that the woman never touched the brake pedal.

The woman’s tiny granddaughter suffered a severe skull fracture during the St. Louis auto accident that caused massive bleeding and swelling in her brain. Unable to overcome her injuries, the little girl died the next day.

The child’s grandmother was found guilty of second-degree murder, armed criminal action and endangering the welfare of a child. At a sentencing hearing scheduled for early June, St. Louis prosecutors are expected to seek a 20-year jail sentence.

With the first of summer’s three big holidays fast approaching, the St. Louis personal injury attorneys at Hoffman & Gelfman encourage people to drink responsibly and designate a driver if they plan to drink over upcoming the Memorial Day weekend. As the grandmother left that 4th of July party two years ago, one of her relatives urged her not to drive. Had someone in the family been more forceful, perhaps tragedy could have been prevented. Something to think about.