We leave our home and travel from place to place without expecting to be involved in a traffic accident. Unfortunately, accidents happen all too often. The news coverage of the recent fatality on I-64 is a recent tragedy. The September 25th accident has been reported to be have been caused when a Dodge pickup truck crossed the median on I-64 near Indian River Road, veering into eastbound traffic. It has been alleged that the truck collided with a Hyundai sedan driven by a 31-year-old woman with her 12-year-old daughter passenger. Sadly, the woman and her daughter died at the scene of the accident. The driver went to the hospital with sustained injuries and was released two days later. He has been charged (thus far) with reckless driving, two counts of involuntary manslaughter as a result of driving on a suspended or revoked license, and for being under the influence.
While nothing the family of the victims can do to bring back their loved ones, they can pursue a legal action to recover monies which can be used to assist the surviving family members. The victims’ family may file a wrongful death claim against the driver and potentially against any separate owner of the vehicle should the driver not own the truck and the owner knew the driver’s alleged history. If the family can establish the driver of the truck was negligent, they may recover monies for the deaths of their family members. It has been reported that the driver of the truck is unemployed with a history of speeding tickets, alcoholism, and previous felony charges. If this is true, it is unlikely this man has legally-required insurance coverage and highlights why it is so important to carry enough under and uninsured motorists coverage on your own policies to ensure that an injured party or their family should there be fatalities, have enough coverage to fully address the injuries/loss.
