One might ride a bicycle to and from work just to slow down the pace, save on fuel and smell the flowers, so to speak. But every activity carries its own risks and nothing is free from danger in this often-frantic paced life of today. Recently, the life of a 53-year-old northern Georgia professional woman ended tragically in a fatal accident when she was struck by an out-of-control SUV. She was riding her bicycle at the time and was killed instantly on impact.
The fatal accident occurred on State Route 11 in northern Georgia when the driver of the SUV, a 40-year-old female, failed to negotiate a curve and instead lost control, traveling over the center line and onto the west shoulder. She swerved back onto the roadway and struck the bicyclist head-on. After the collision, the SUV continued off the east shoulder, striking an embankment and flipping over. The driver was taken to a hospital with unspecified injuries.
Police said that charges were pending against the SUV driver. They awaited toxicology tests but did not expect that drugs or alcohol were involved. The Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team is preparing a supplemental report. A spokesperson for Post 37 of the GSP said that since March 1, 2013 it has dealt with seven fatalities, which is a dramatic increase in the normal incidence of one fatal accident every six months.
The GSP spokesperson stressed that people should take precautions to refrain from texting or using the phone when driving, which may possibly be an indication that such activity contributed to this wrongful death. The decedent was a professional pharmacist and had worked in a local pharmacy for over 23 years. She loved her favorite sport of cycling.
In Georgia and other states, if a person’s negligence substantially causes a fatal accident, the decedent’s estate can bring a wrongful death action against the negligent person. This is a civil action that prescribes various elements of monetary compensation payable to the decedent’s immediate family members. The compensation may be fairly substantial in a case like this where a middle-aged professional person has been deprived of significant earnings and economic benefits during her remaining estimated life expectancy.
Source: Cumming, GA Patch, “Local Pharmacist Struck and Killed While Riding Bicycle,” Liz Kennedy, March 19, 2013