4 indicted for murder regarding a California automobile accident
A fatal California automobile accident case was recently featured in the news. The automobile accident case is unique, mainly due to questions over who is liable for the death of the accident victim. Indeed, four alleged robbers were charged with murder relating to the fatal head-on accident, but those individuals were not even physically involved in the crash.
The automobile accident was between a police cruiser and another vehicle. The police officer was responding to a home robbery call, relating to a home that the four defendants allegedly invaded and robbed. Police say that if the alleged robbers had not committed a crime, then the police officer would not have responded to the call, and the car accident he was involved in would not have occurred. Thus, according to prosecutors, the victim who was killed in the accident would not have died.
The four people who were arrested and charged with murder were a 29-year-old man, a 38-year-old man, a 28-year-old woman and a 20-year-old woman. A defense attorney who was representing one of the four people during the indictment claimed that the prosecution was overreaching and that the murder charge was unfounded. The defense attorney said he would file a motion to try to dismiss the charge.
Whenever a fatal automobile accident occurs in California, the question of who may be responsible for the death is a vital one. Particularly if the victim’s family members wish to seek justice by way of a wrongful death claim, it is important to know who is allegedly at fault for the accident. In this case, the question of whether the alleged robbers are to blame for the death of the woman (who was in an almost completely unrelated event) is certainly a unique one. Indeed, if the murder charges brought against the four individuals hold water in court, it may affect who the victim’s family members would bring a wrongful death claim against, should they choose to pursue such an action. Moreover, if the evidence suggests that the officer was negligent in a manner that caused or contributed to the fatal accident (which is pending investigation), a claim for wrongful death may be appropriate against the policeman as well as his employer.
Source: therepublic.com, 4 face murder charges in fatal Northern California car crash despite not being at scene, No author, Feb. 5, 2014