Car Accidents
Drunk Drivers
Bus Accidents
Motorcycle Accidents
Bicycle Accidents
Truck Accidents
Pedestrian Accidents
Hit And Run Driver Accidents
Fatal Accidents
Sun-Sentinel.com reports that a 20 year old South Florida man received two years in prison followed by 10 years' probation after he pled guilty to vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving charges. Four teenagers were passengers in the defendant's vehicle when he lost control of the car and crashed into a lightpole. One of the teens was killed.
The State Attorney prosecuting the case stated that the defendant's car was traveling 75 mph in a 45-mph zone. He stated that the accident was so intense that the victim would likely had died even had he been wearing his seat belt, which the evidence revealed that he had not been. Another teen in the car was paralyzed from the waist down. The injuries to the defendant and to the other teens were not serious.
While the defendant apologized to the victim's family in open court, the family indicated that they and their son are deserving of more than a mere apology. The family was understandly unmoved as the apology came on the defendant's day of sentencing and he had not expressed prior remorse.
In this case, the defendant was sentenced to jail time despite the fact that there was no evidence that he had been intoxicated, under the influence of drugs or that he had been texting while driving. He got jail time because he was driving too fast, crashed his car and a young person paid the ultimate price.
The judge in this case more likely than not looked at the totality of the facts and concluded that in light of the tragic fatality and the catastrophic injuries inflicted on otherwise innocent children that a jail sentence, and not probation was just and appropriate. The court was also probably aware of the horrendous statistics regarding teenage car accidents that I am about to discuss and wanted to send a message to South Florida teens that they need to drive responsibly and shall be held fully accountable for their actions if they fail to do so.
Car accidents are one of the primary causes of death for teenagers in our country. The decedent in this case was one of more than 3,000 young people to lose his life nationwide in 2009, according to a report by the the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms that In 2009, eight teenagers between the ages of 16 to 19 were killed every day in car accidents. For each mile travelled, teenage drivers between the ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to be involved in a car accident.
The family of the victim in this case sadly finds their son as one of the above statistics for 2009. As they have indicated that the defendant's day of sentencing apology did not suffice they may have the right to make a civil wrongful claim against the defendant as well. As I have indicated in earlier blog entries the burden of proof in a civil case is not as onerous as in a criminal case. The family here should they decide to bring a civil claim need only prove it more likely than not that the defendant's negligence was the proximate cause of their son's death in order to make a successful claim for compensation.
