Driving is a skill that takes a lot of good judgment. It requires the ability to follow directions in the form of traffic signals. When drivers fail to obey traffic signals, they risk hurting not only themselves, but others as well. This happened recently in central Florida.
Case in point: a car accident in the early morning hours of July 11 in the St. Cloud area. A pregnant 23-year-old woman was driving on U.S. 192. A 17-year-old girl was driving in another car and failed to stop at a stop sign. She entered the roadway, colliding with the woman’s car. The car overturned, killing the woman at the scene. She was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.
The girl and her passenger, an 18-year-old female, were seriously injured and taken to a local hospital for treatment. It did not appear that alcohol was the cause of the crash. However, the Florida Highway Patrol is still investigating the cause of the accident and the girl could face charges for her actions.
Car accidents are typically based on the laws of negligence, since most are caused by one or more of the drivers involved. In this case, because the girl did disobey a traffic sign, she is the one liable for the death of the woman and her unborn baby. However, because the victim was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, she could be held partly liable for contributing to her own death by not taking proper safety precautions.
The girl should consider getting help from a personal injury lawyer who understands what charges the girl could face in this serious situation. Even though this was an accident on the girl’s part, she could potentially face involuntary manslaughter charges. She could also face a wrongful death lawsuit from the victim’s family.
Source:
Miami Herald, “Pregnant woman killed in car crash” No author given, Jul. 11, 2013
