Fiery head-on collision kills 5
Five people were killed in a fiery car accident in California Oct. 24. The fatal crash happened east of Groveland along Highway 120, the highway that connects the Bay Area to Yosemite National Park. The two vehicles collided head on, but police could not immediately determine which of the two vehicles had crossed the centerline.
The head-on collision took place around 6:30 p.m. when a 2012 Nissan Maxima sedan and a 2012 Mercedes-Benz SUV collided near the intersection of Smith Station Road. The drivers of both of the vehicles were pronounced dead at the scene as well as all but one passenger in the Mercedes. There were two survivors of the crash. In the Mercedes, a woman in her 50s survived as well as a 22-year-old woman in the Nissan. The younger woman suffered from major injuries, and both women were airlifted to the hospital.
Following the accident, a stretch of highway was shut down for several hours while investigators gathered evidence from the scene. Local fire crews were also sent to the area to put out a fire that had spread from the crash scene to the Stanislaus National Forest. Police say that they are waiting on the results of autopsies to determine whether either of the drivers had alcohol or drugs in their system.
After a car accident like this, the injured victims may decide to file personal injury claims against the liable parties. If the liable party is deceased, personal injury claims may be filed against the estate of a deceased driver. An attorney might be able to help an accident victim to gather evidence of a deceased driver’s liability for a collision and present the evidence in a personal injury claim.