A defendant can be charged with felony DUI if he or she causes great bodily injury or death while driving drunk. Occasionally, however, the actual cause of an accident is not clear. For example, one man's South Carolina felony DUI charges have been downgraded to second offense DUI charges after Highway Patrol investigators determined he was not the only cause of an accident that killed two children.

Prosecutors originally charged a 37-year-old man with two counts of felony DUI and having an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle. The defendant was driving below the speed limit when he hit a car pulling into a private driveway.

According to the Highway Patrol, the driver of the other vehicle pulled in front of the defendant's car to turn into the driveway, thus contributing to the accident. Because both parties contributed to the accident, prosecutors dropped the felony charges.

Causation is one of many defenses used to fight felony DUI charges. DUI defense attorneys may also be able to challenge the procedures used by law enforcement, suppress evidence and challenge the admissibility of blood or breath tests. No matter what defense applies to a felony DUI arrest, it can mean the difference between substantial penalties and freedom.

Felony DUI involving death is considered a violent crime in South Carolina. It carries at least one year in prison and could send a defendant to prison for twenty-five years. Defendants must also worry about heavy fines, driver's license revocation and future consequences. Thankfully, DUI charges don't always lead to conviction and if they do, there are ways to reduce the impact of the conviction.

Source: Wistv.com, "Charges downgraded in DUI crash that killed 2 children," Jason Old, Jan. 25, 2012