KTAR News, citing the Associated Press, reported that the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in Massachusetts suspended his campaign on a Sunday, hours after he was arrested in a suspected drunk driving crash in New Bedford. According to the report, the candidate is a New Bedford city councilor and a corrections officer, and he announced the end of his campaign in a post on X. No one has been convicted of anything, and an arrest is an allegation, not a finding.
An arrest on suspicion of impaired driving is a criminal matter, and it does not decide who pays for an injured person's medical bills, lost income, or pain. In Arizona, driving under the influence is prosecuted under A.R.S. § 28-1381, and the state must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. A civil injury claim is separate; it is proved by a preponderance of the evidence, it belongs to the injured person rather than the state, and it can succeed even if the criminal charge is reduced, dismissed, or never filed. The deadline is also separate. Most Arizona injury claims must be filed within two years under A.R.S. § 12-542, and that clock runs regardless of how long a criminal case takes. Arizona also applies pure comparative fault under A.R.S. § 12-2505, so an insurer that cannot dispute impairment will often argue the injured person shares some percentage of the blame instead.
The Criminal Case Can Help Your Civil Case, But It Is Not Your Case
You are not a party to the prosecution. The county attorney decides what to charge, whether to offer a plea, and whether to dismiss, and none of those decisions require your agreement. What the criminal process does give you is evidence: the police report, body camera footage, blood or breath test records, and any statements the driver made. Those materials are often easier to obtain through a civil case than by waiting for the prosecution to finish.
Restitution in a criminal case is also not the same as full compensation. It is usually limited to economic losses the court can calculate, and it does not cover pain, loss of enjoyment of life, or the future care an insurer should be paying for. If a death results, Arizona handles those losses through the wrongful death statutes at A.R.S. § 12-611 through A.R.S. § 12-613, and claims the person held before death can be pursued by the estate under A.R.S. § 14-3110.
Shorter Deadlines When a Government Employer Is Involved
The two-year deadline in A.R.S. § 12-542 is not always the one that controls. If an at-fault driver in Arizona was acting within the scope of employment for a public entity, a city, county, state agency, or school district, A.R.S. § 12-821.01 requires a written notice of claim served on the correct public officials within 180 days of when the claim accrues. The notice must state a specific settlement amount and the facts supporting it. Miss that window and the claim against the public entity is barred, even though the two-year deadline has not run.
Whether a driver was on duty or on personal time is a factual question, and it is not something to guess at. If the driver's employer may have been involved, identify that early and treat the 180-day deadline as the operative one until you know otherwise.
Practical Steps in the First Weeks
Get evaluated, even if you walked away. Adrenaline masks injuries for days, and a gap in treatment is the first thing an adjuster points to. Ask for the police report number at the scene or from the investigating agency afterward, and request a copy once it is released.
Photograph the vehicles, the roadway, and your visible injuries before anything is repaired or heals. Write down what you remember while it is fresh, including who you spoke to. Check your own policy for medical payments coverage and underinsured motorist coverage; both can matter if the other driver's limits are low. Give the other driver's insurer nothing beyond basic identifying information, and no recorded statement, until you understand what your claim is worth. Arizona law also requires drivers to stop and exchange information under A.R.S. § 28-661, so note whether that happened.
If you were injured by a driver who was arrested on suspicion of impairment, our Arizona car accident attorneys can explain what your claim is worth and which deadline applies to you.