Drunk driving accidents occur every day across the country. Few of them garner as much attention as the one that Scott Sciple was involved in on April 23 last year in Tampa, Florida.
Sciple's DUI crash, which took the life of another motorist and also injured that driver's wife, brought in its wake a comprehensive military investigation. That scrutiny generated a voluminous written report and has drawn remarks from both Marine Corps officials and the victim's widow that direct a significant amount of blame toward the military.
It is undisputed that Sciple was intoxicated when he hit the other driver on Interstate 275 in the early morning hours of that fateful day. What is disputed is whether the case is as direct and clear cut as prosecutors say.
Captain Sciple is a heavily decorated Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran, an officer who witnessed dozens of casualties, was wounded several times and suffered extensive blood loss and brain injuries.
The military's accident report questions whether Sciple should even have been on active duty at the time of the crash. He was being treated for anxiety, schizophrenia and depression associated with post-traumatic stress disorder ("PTSD").
"This investigation reveals a disturbing vulnerability in the support we provide our combat veterans suffering the invisible wounds of PTSD," wrote a Marine Corps colonel involved in the investigation.
Sciple is now in jail pending his trial date. His defense team will pursue an insanity defense and calls both Sciple and the DUI victim's widow "casualties of war."
Related Resource: ABC News, "Marine Claims Brain Trauma Led to Fatal DUI Crash" Sept. 23, 2011
