Car accident kills 1, injures 2 in California
A fiery California accident recently claimed the life of one individual in Santa Barbara County. A fatal car accident is often attributed to a driver’s reckless or negligent behavior. Although monetary compensation cannot bring a deceased accident victim back to life, it may enable the victim’s surviving family members to move forward after such a tragedy. An experienced car accident lawyer could help the family secure monetary compensation.
The accident happened shortly before 6 p.m. on a Sunday. According to police, witnesses reported seeing a 22-year-old man driving a sport utility vehicle erratically. The vehicle apparently drifted off of the road’s right shoulder and ended up on an area covered with grass and dirt.
At that point, the vehicle hit a large tree as well as a sound wall. The automobile caught fire. While the driver of the vehicle and a 21-year-old male passenger managed to escape the sport utility vehicle, a 25-year-old female passenger suffered major trauma to her head as well as burns; she passed away at the crash scene. Officials reported that the driver’s spleen was lacerated, while the surviving passenger’s vertebrae were fractured; these two individuals were transported to the hospital for treatment.
Police said they believed drugs and alcohol played a role in the car accident, and the driver was arrested. In this case, the family of the woman who died may choose to sue the driver, seeking damages that may help them to cover the woman’s burial expenses and other accident-related losses. Meanwhile, the injured passenger might choose to file a personal injury claim. If the driver ends up being charged in the fatal crash, proof of any resulting conviction may be presented in a related civil court proceeding in an effort to establish his financial liability regarding the California wreck.
Source: keyt.com, “UPDATE: Fiery Car Crash in Santa Maria Kills One”, Jeff Goodvin, Dec. 28, 2014