6 people killed in an automobile accident in California

Our Blog,wrongful death | February 15, 2014

Six people were recently killed in a wrong-way car accident in Southern California. The wrong-way driver who is allegedly responsible for causing the crash was arrested following the incident. As is the case when any person is killed in an automobile accident that was apparently caused by another person’s failure to follow traffic laws, family members of the victims may be entitled to restitution relating to this horrific occurrence.

According to one California trooper, the force of the impact was so severe that it ejected three people from their vehicles. The accident is said to have occurred because a 21-year-old woman was driving her car eastbound, the wrong way, in the westbound lanes of State Route 60. At approximately 4:40 a.m., her vehicle crashed head-on with a SUV. Next, a third vehicle hit the SUV.

Four victims were pronounced dead at the accident scene. Two more individuals succumbed to their injuries later, after doctors tried to save them at the hospital. As of Feb. 9, the woman who was driving the wrong way was reported to be at the hospital recovering, with a ruptured bladder and a broken leg.

California troopers report that they have evidence that alcohol was involved, a likely causal factor to explain how six people were killed in an automobile accident. Therefore, it may be that the woman was not only violating the law by driving the wrong way on a state road, but she also may have been drunk. If police suspicions are true in this regard, family members of the victims may choose to pursue wrongful death claims. Indeed, the decision to file such a case is a difficult and personal one, but a successfully litigated claim could provide restitution for the financial losses that typically accompany these tragedies.

Source: Miami Herald, 6 die in multi-car crash on S. California freeway, No author, Feb. 9, 2014