Two high schoolers’ lives have unfortunately been cut short as a result of a car collision in Georgia. In addition to killing the two teenagers, the car accident led to injuries to three other individuals. The crash occurred over a recent weekend.
The crash took place at around 6:45 p.m. on a Sunday. According to authorities, a car carrying four teenagers was heading south and speeding along Lawrenceville Highway. All of a sudden, the car crashed into a sport utility vehicle that was attempting to make a left turn from the middle lane onto another street. The car spun around, left the roadway and struck a power pole. Meanwhile, the sport utility vehicle also spun and ended up in the highway’s southbound lanes.
Both the 16-year-old car driver and a 15-year-old car passenger ended up passing away. The 15-year-old died while on the way to the hospital. Two other car passengers, 15 and 16, were transported to medical centers for their injuries, and the sport utility vehicle driver was also taken to the hospital with injuries. There were no passengers in the sport utility vehicle at the time of the collision.
In collisions involving left turns, the driver making the left turn is usually always the one considered to have been at fault, as drivers who are turning left are required to yield to oncoming traffic. If police determine that the sport utility vehicle driver was at fault in the accident, the injured parties may choose to file personal injury claims against this individual. Likewise, the surviving family members of the two deceased victims may choose to file wrongful death claims.
However, if the deceased car driver is determined to be at fault, anyone with an ownership interest in the car — or the driver’s parents, if applicable — may face personal injury claims filed by the injured parties and a wrongful death claim filed by the loved ones of the deceased passenger. If the evidence indicates that more than one driver was negligent, financial damages may be apportioned between the motorists based on the theory of comparative negligence. A successfully fought claim may lead to a monetary damage award, which may help with funeral costs, medical bills and other losses related to the Georgia car accident.
Source: ajc.com, “2 killed in Gwinnett County crash”, Lauren Foreman, July 17, 2017
