Pedestrian Fatality Caused by Hit-and-Run Driver
Authorities made an arrest in a fatal accident near Placerville on February 8. They initially reported the accident along Carson Road between Barkley Road and the El Dorado Freeway around 5:00 p.m. when a pedestrian was struck by a hit-and-run driver. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) described the fleeing vehicle as a Honda SUV, which authorities were following through the area of Apple Hill. By 8:00 p.m., the police had located the vehicle and took the driver into custody. The names of the pedestrian and hit-and-run driver have not yet been released to the public.
Deaths and Injuries Caused by Pedestrian Accidents
At intersections and elsewhere, motor vehicle drivers often cause pedestrian fatalities and injuries by being negligent. Pedestrian accidents can be caused by the following factors:
- Distracted motorists text, talk on their cell phones and engage in other activities that keep them from attending to the surrounding traffic and road.
- As a result of drunk driving, an intoxicated driver strikes a pedestrian, causing a fatal accident. Intoxicated drivers pose a significant danger to all road users due to their impaired vision, inability to judge distances and slowed reflexes.
- Walkers legally crossing the street are at risk of being injured when they are struck by a driver who speeds or runs a red light or stop sign.
- During a tailgating incident, a vehicle hit by another driver gets pushed into a pedestrian crosswalk, injuring or killing walkers already there.
- At an intersection traffic arrow, the motorist turns left without checking for pedestrians crossing the street legally, striking a walker in the crosswalk.
- Motorists make a risky right turn with other vehicles blocking their view to the left. Drivers are so preoccupied with traffic to their left that they fail to notice that a pedestrian is stepping off the curb to their right.
Pedestrian Fatal Accident in Placerville
In a Sacramento pedestrian wrongful death case after a fatal accident, California law specifies financial damages that can be recovered. Among them are:
- Funeral and burial expenses can be reclaimed.
- The decedent’s income, insurance benefits, pension, IRA contributions and additional funds the loved one would have earned had they lived can be recovered.
- Services that the decedent provided and must now be paid for can be recovered, including car maintenance, tax preparation, childcare and other areas that helped the family.
- Loss of consortium, or loss of intimacy between spouses, can be recovered monetarily.
- A family’s children may claim they have lost the nurturing, guidance and protection provided by the decedent.
- Because the decedent will no longer contribute to the estate, inheritance loss can be recovered.
- A survival action may be filed if the deceased family member lived for some time before he or she died. In addition to covering physician and hospital bills, ambulance charges and other expenses, it also covers the pain and suffering your loved one experienced before death.
Investigating a Pedestrian Fatal Accident
To determine that the driver is at fault, the lawyer investigates the accident. By doing so, the families of those who have lost a loved one can recover damages. An investigation could take place in several areas, such as:
- Pedestrian fatalities are included in an accident report by police, and it must be checked because mistakes can lead to claims being denied.
- There is an examination of the area to see if there are any surveillance cameras that captured footage of the accident. This can help locate the vehicle responsible for the hit-and-run fatal accident.
- Interviews are conducted with witnesses. In some cases, they can identify the vehicle and even the driver.
- Photographs are taken of the collision site during accident reconstruction. It is possible to determine who was at fault by reconstructing the accident as it occurred.
Placerville Wrongful Death Lawyer
I am Ed Smith, a Placerville wrongful death lawyer. Hit-and-run drivers cause many fatalities every year in Northern California. If your family lost their loved one and would like information on whether they can file a wrongful death claim, contact us for our free and friendly advice at (530) 392-9400 or (800) 404-5400. An online message form is available as well.
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Photo attribution: Image by Andreas Lischka from Pixabay
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