A boy recently died following a motor vehicle crash in Georgia. The fatal accident happened on a Saturday night. The boy, age 7, suffered traumatic head injuries and passed away at the hospital.
Police said the accident occurred when a woman was operating a car that had been stolen from the apartment complex at which she lived. The woman then reportedly caused multiple accidents. One accident occurred on a parkway and involved multiple cars.
A second crash occurred on the parkway in front of a car wash; that is where the boy was killed. Also in the vehicle in which he was killed were two parents and three other kids. Finally, a third accident involved only the woman’s car and occurred when she left the roadway on the right side and hit a utility box used for traffic control purposes. The woman was taken into custody following the series of crashes and faces multiple charges, including theft through taking a vehicle, felony murder, vehicular homicide, DUI, reckless driving, not maintaining her lane and leaving an accident scene.
The surviving family members of the boy who died in the Georgia vehicle crash have the right to file a wrongful death claim in this case. If the woman believed to have caused his death ends up being convicted of the criminal charges, proof of the conviction may be presented in a related civil court proceeding in an effort to establish financial responsibility in the fatal accident. Awarded damages may help to cover burial costs, medical bills and other crash-related losses. It may be beneficial for the family to also investigate whether they have underinsured and uninsured coverage on their own insurance policies.
Source: wtvm.com, “UPDATE: Woman charged with murder after fatal multi-car accident”, Tanita Gaither, Dec. 19, 2015