Injury Accident Along I-5 Involves Driver Who Flees the Scene
A hit-and-run with injuries happened in Woodland on December 27 in a collision involving two vehicles. The incident was reported by the California Highway Patrol (CHP) around 12:42 in the afternoon on north Interstate 5, just north of the on-ramp for southbound SR 16. The accident was initially reported as involving only a single vehicle but amended later when officers realized another car had been involved.
Pickup Runs Off the Road Due to Hit-and-Run
The crashed vehicle was a Ford Ranger, which went off the road into a ditch and overturned. The vehicle that fled the scene was identified as a gray Honda Accord. No additional information was provided on the reported injuries and whether the injured party was treated by medics at the scene or transported to a hospital. The CHP is conducting an investigation to find out how the hit-and-run with injuries occurred and to locate the driver who fled.
Hit-and-Run Accidents
Hit-and-run drivers are unfortunately common these days, as more motorists try to escape their responsibilities when an accident happens. However, my law firm prides itself on its ability to find those fleeing drivers. We believe it is difficult enough for someone to suffer injuries caused by a negligent motorist. They should certainly not be responsible for the financial harm an injury accident brings with it. There are a number of techniques we use to locate a hit-and-run driver, including:
- Our investigative team goes right away to the scene of the accident to take photos and look for signs that can help identify the fleeing vehicle such as paint smears, tire tracks and dropped pieces of metal. Because paint colors and metal pieces such as taillights are specific to certain manufacturers, makes and models, it can help identify the car.
- Traffic and business surveillance cameras in the area are checked to see if any of them caught the accident on tape.
- An interview is conducted with any witnesses to the hit-and-run. Witnesses can often describe the vehicle, at least part of the license plate number, and capture the collision as it happened on their cell phones.
- Accident reconstruction is performed, which shows the positions of the vehicles before the accident happened, as it occurred and where the cars ended up. This sort of evidence usually points toward which driver was at fault and is used both by civil courts and insurance companies.
- The accident report filed by the responding police is checked for inaccuracies and clues they may have picked up about the driver and vehicle that fled.
Once the hit-and-run driver is located, they can be held responsible through their insurance company or in civil court for the accident injuries. If the driver does not have the financial resources to make it worthwhile, there is still another option for the injured party to get fair compensation to pay for their medical bills and other losses.
Filing a Claim Using an Uninsured/Underinsured Insurance Policy
California drivers are offered an add-on uninsured/underinsured policy when they elect to take auto insurance. That insurance policy can be used to pay for accident injuries when the hit-and-run driver has been located.
If the injured party does not have this add-on insurance, but another household member does, that can be used to recover damages. It does not affect the rates in the future. An injury lawyer can help by negotiating your settlement to reach the best possible outcome.
Woodland Car Accident Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Woodland car accident lawyer. When another motorist causes your accident injuries, we can offer you free and friendly advice on whether you can file a claim to recover damages. Give us a call at (530) 392-9400 or (800) 404-5400 or message us online.
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Since 1982, our team of injury lawyers has helped many residents of Yolo County to recover the compensation they deserve in all kinds of car accidents.
Photo attribution: Image by Rico Löb from Pixabay
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