Missouri DWI Accident Lawyer

Defending DWI Charges Involving Accidents, Injuries, and Death | Attorney Andrew Brumitt

When a DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) arrest in Missouri involves an accident, the stakes rise dramatically. Prosecutors and police treat any crash — even one with minor damage — as evidence of impairment. If there are injuries, fatalities, or property damage, the case may be upgraded to a felony under RSMo § 577.010 and § 565.074 (Assault While Intoxicated) or § 565.024 (Vehicular Manslaughter).

At Brumitt Legal, attorney Andrew Brumitt defends clients accused of DWI with an accident, crash, or injurythroughout Missouri. He personally handles every case, from analyzing crash reconstruction reports to cross-examining accident investigators. These cases are built on science and mathematics — and if the prosecution’s analysis is wrong, the entire case can fall apart.

Why DWI Accident Cases Are So Complex

Unlike a routine traffic DWI, accident-related DWIs involve layers of technical evidence that most lawyers and jurors don’t fully understand. Prosecutors often rely on police crash reconstruction units that claim to “prove” how the crash occurred — but their conclusions are only as strong as their calculations and assumptions.

Andrew Brumitt challenges that science directly, often revealing that investigators:

  • Misapplied the laws of motion when estimating speed or angles of impact

  • Used inaccurate drag factors for road surfaces, weather, or tire conditions

  • Assumed driver reaction times or braking distances without empirical data

  • Ignored pre-impact steering input or secondary collisions

  • Failed to calibrate reconstruction equipment or survey tools properly

Every crash leaves behind a measurable story — skid lengths, yaw marks, crush damage, momentum vectors, debris dispersion, vehicle rest positions, and event data recorder (EDR) output — but interpreting that story requires mathematical precision.

Andrew works with or cross-examines accident reconstructionists using:

  • Newton’s Laws of Motion (F = ma, momentum conservation)

  • Coefficient of friction (drag factor) to compute pre-impact speeds

  • Time–distance calculations based on perception–reaction intervals (typically 1.5 sec baseline)

  • Kinetic energy and crush analysis (½mv² vs deformation energy)

  • Weight transfer and braking dynamics for each vehicle

  • Event Data Recorder (black box) analysis, including throttle, braking, speed, and airbag deployment data

  • Photogrammetry and total-station mapping to reconstruct trajectories from scene photos and measurements

These technical components are often over-simplified or even misrepresented in police reports. A skilled DWI accident lawyer must understand the physics and be ready to confront the “science” behind the government’s case.

Missouri DWI Accident Penalties

A DWI with a crash is far more serious than a standard DWI. Depending on the outcome, you may face charges such as:

  • DWI with Property Damage — typically a misdemeanor, but can become a felony if damage is significant

  • DWI with Serious Physical Injury — a Class E or D Felony under RSMo § 565.074, punishable by up to 7 years in prison

  • DWI Resulting in Death (Vehicular Manslaughter) — a Class C or B Felony, punishable by up to 15 years or more

  • Leaving the Scene of an Accident While Intoxicated — additional felony exposure under RSMo § 577.060

Even without injuries, the Department of Revenue may impose an administrative suspension or revocation, and insurance consequences can be devastating.

How Attorney Andrew Brumitt Builds a DWI Accident Defense

Andrew Brumitt takes a forensic, data-driven approach to DWI accident defense. He meticulously reviews the evidence and, when necessary, reconstructs the crash himself using the raw measurements and data — not just what the police report claims.

Key Defense Steps:

  1. Crash Scene Analysis

    • Reviewing total station diagrams, photographs, skid measurements, and roadway conditions.

    • Determining whether police used correct drag factor (f) for road texture, slope, and weather.

  2. Physics-Based Speed and Impact Review

    • Using the basic speed formula v=30fdv=30fd​ (velocity in mph = √(30 × drag factor × distance)) to test officer speed calculations.

    • Verifying assumptions about coefficient of friction, braking efficiency, and driver reaction time.

  3. Vehicle Dynamics & EDR Data Audit

    • Subpoenaing or examining Event Data Recorder (EDR) output from newer vehicles, which can log pre-impact speed, throttle, braking, and seatbelt usage.

    • Comparing EDR data to police reconstruction claims for inconsistencies.

  4. Toxicology & Timing Challenges

    • Analyzing BAC testing relative to crash time — using retrograde extrapolation to argue that BAC at the time of the crash may have been below legal limit (0.08) when the accident occurred.

  5. Human Factors & Reaction Analysis

    • Challenging claims of “delayed reaction” by comparing the driver’s braking pattern, visibility, lighting conditions, and driver perception–response times (1.0–2.5 seconds typical).

  6. Independent Reconstruction & Expert Collaboration

    • Working with forensic engineers and accident reconstruction experts who use advanced simulation tools such as PC-Crash, HVE, and AutoCAD 3D modeling to test alternate hypotheses.

    • Presenting alternative explanations such as mechanical failure, road hazards, or another driver’s fault.

Fighting the Science — and the Assumptions

In DWI accident cases, the prosecution’s strongest evidence often isn’t eyewitness testimony — it’s mathematical modeling and crash reconstruction reports. But those reports rely on assumptions, estimates, and software inputs that are easily manipulated.

Andrew Brumitt exposes those weaknesses through cross-examination and counter-expert testimony, showing juries how small changes in variables — such as drag factor (0.60 vs 0.75) or perception time (1.0 vs 1.5 seconds) — can completely change conclusions about speed, causation, and driver fault.

A case that seems hopeless on paper can often be turned around through scientific accuracy and rigorous investigation.

Why You Need an Experienced DWI Accident Lawyer

When a crash occurs, police tend to assume intoxication caused it — not the other way around.
Without a lawyer who understands both the law and the science, you risk being convicted on bad physics and incomplete data.

DWI accident cases have to be meticulously prepared for trial, every time. If you are considering a lawyer who has never done this, or cannot explain EDR data to you, you probably shouldn’t hire them.

Attorney Andrew Brumitt has handled complex DWI accident cases across Missouri, successfully challenging flawed reconstructions, misapplied forensic principles, and unreliable test results. He combines trial skill with technical analysis to expose the weaknesses that most lawyers — and juries — never see.

Charged with a DWI Involving an Accident in Missouri? Call Andrew Brumitt.

If you’ve been accused of DWI involving a crash, injury, or fatality, you need an attorney who can confront both the legal and scientific sides of the case.
Attorney Andrew Brumitt will analyze the evidence, reconstruct the crash, and fight to protect your freedom, license, and reputation.

Call (314) 448-0914 or complete the DWI Questionnaire for a free, confidential consultation.


Brumitt Legal represents clients in St. Louis County, St. Charles County, Jefferson County, Boone County, Greene County, Jackson County, and throughout Missouri.