A horrendous conflict is tugging at the hearts of a family who lost their daughter in a recent tragedy. The fatal accident was reported previously, and it included the conclusion of the Georgia State Patrol that the 16-year-old girl was car-surfing right before the car accident that killed her. That’s the reckless act of being on the top of the car while someone else is driving.
Perhaps the family of the dead 16-year-old could have accepted the official conclusion that their daughter was reckless. However, they say that witnesses have come to them after the accident and stated that they did not see anyone on top of the car right before the car accident. The mother and her sister also consider the girl to have been a level-headed, serious person who would not do such a thing.
Specifically, the girl’s mother reported to the press that two persons came to her since the auto accident and told her that they saw ‘something different’. They saw the car go by and no one was on top of it. In a telephone interview with the Georgia State Trooper who made the conclusion of car-surfing, he said he was sticking with that finding. He said he was told about the car-surfing by the vehicle’s driver, and he added that the car showed evidence of surfing.
The trooper invited the witnesses to contact him before the investigation of the car accident is closed. The family may be clinging to hope against hope. It does seem quite incredible that there would be witnesses saying that to the mother and not reporting it to the police. On the other hand, if the girl was not car-surfing, then it could be that the family would have a wrongful death claim against the driver.
In Georgia and everywhere else, incorrect police reports with respect to a car accident are not uncommon. The importance of the issue for the family, and the legal repercussions that could result, are too critical to pass over. The trooper should investigate the matter to determine its truth or falsity.
Source: 11alive.com, “Family: Teen killed in car crash was not car surfing,” Matt Pearl, June 19, 2013
