A 22-year-old South Florida man is facing 75 years in prison after a 2011 car crash that killed three of his friends. According to reports, the man was driving a Honda Civic eastbound on Northwest 12th Street in Doral when he got into a race with a black Infiniti. Traveling at a high rate of speed, the driver of the Civic lost control of his vehicle and struck a concrete utility pole, splitting the Civic in two.
Two of the passengers in his car, both teenagers, were ejected from the vehicle. The other passenger, also a teenager, was trapped inside. All three were pronounced dead at the scene. According to reports, the driver left the scene of the accident on foot. However, his family accompanied him to Miami-Dade police headquarters less than two days later, and he turned himself in.
Prior to the accident, the driver of the Civic had no criminal record, although he did have 16 traffic citations. Recently, the 22-year-old man attended a sentencing hearing after being convicted of vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. Various members of the victims’ families spoke at the hearing.
When a car accident is fatal, it is sometimes possible for the victims’ families to file a wrongful death claim, especially if it can be shown that the accident was the result of negligence. If the families of the three teenage victims decide to pursue a claim and seek compensation for their losses, they may want to discuss their situation with an attorney who could file the claim for them and represent them in hearings. The lawsuit might be filed against the 22-year-old man.
Source: WSVN, “Man convicted in drag racing deaths takes stand, apologizes”, June 19, 2014
