Early reports of a tragic Georgia crash suggest that a driver who died was also responsible for causing the collision. Whether that is accurate may have to await further investigation and the publication of an official accident report by the Georgia State Patrol. Whatever law enforcement officials conclude will not change the fact that the driver and her female passenger were both victims in the fatal accident.
The preliminary information suggests that the 50-year-old driver of a Toyota Corolla came to a stop at an intersection with U.S. 27. She was headed west and is said to have proceeded into the intersection, notwithstanding the fact that a tanker truck headed south on the highway was approaching. The Corolla collided with and got stuck underneath the truck and was dragged more than the length of a football field before the truck driver came to a stop.
The car driver and her 40-year-old passenger both died. The passenger was transported for medical care by ambulance and passed away at Memorial Hospital. The driver was airlifted to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital and reportedly died about an hour after the collision.
If the preliminary information released by the Georgia State Patrol is confirmed, it appears unlikely that criminal charges would not be pursued against the truck driver. The families of the deceased victims will likely be interested in the progress of the investigation and may elect to have a separate investigation as well. The estate of the deceased passenger retains the right to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit through our state court system against any party whose negligence is deemed to have caused or contributed to the fatal accident which cost the life of their loved one. If the negligent party is deemed to have been the now deceased driver, a cause of action would exist against her estate as well as against any separate owner of the motor vehicle she was driving.
Source: The Post-Searchlight, “Two die in accident on U.S. 27 South on Saturday,” Brennan Leathers, Jan. 26, 2013