California car accident leaves 4 children in hospital
A crash in Fresno on March 14 has sent four children to the hospital, two of whom are in critical condition. According to police, a man collided with a Suburban containing nine students who were coming home from school. The man was allegedly trying to evade police after he realized that an officer had clocked him speeding. Police report that the man was traveling over 70 mph when he drove through a stop sign and slammed into the Suburban. Many of the children in the vehicle were ejected, causing head trauma in two of the students and many broken bones in another.
The Suburban was being operated by a third party agency that provides some students with door-to-door service to and from Fresno’s Anchor Academy. According to police, many of the children did not have their seal belts fastened properly. Also, the Suburban was allegedly over capacity.
A representative from the Fresno police department indicated that the site of the car accident was particularly disturbing for the responding officers. Authorities must wait for some of the students’ brain swelling to go down before the consequences of their head injuries can truly be assessed; however, the brain injuries could be significantly life-changing. The man responsible for the crash is being held in jail and is facing felony charges.
This is not the man’s first run-in with the law, however. He spent a few years in jail after opening fire in a Fresno park in 2009. Families of the injured children might wish to take legal action against the man in an attempt to cover financial damages such as hospital bills and future ongoing medical care. A qualified attorney might also be able to determine if a case could be made against the transportation agency for failing to ensure the safety of its passengers.
Source: ABC 30, “Fresno man faces felony charges in crash involving kids” Sontaya Rose, Mar. 17, 2014