There are many ways that Seattle drivers can be negligent. While most people may think of distracted driving, or driving under the influence when they think of negligent drivers, there are many other common negligent behaviors. These include driving too fast for the conditions, failure to obey traffic rules, failure to yield to the right of way of another vehicle or person and negligent maintenance. In any of these cases, a Washington driver can easily cause a car accident and injure other people.
The Traffic Collision Investigation Squad of the Seattle Police Department is currently investigating a recent accident. This investigation will help to determine if the driver was negligent when causing this accident to occur.
According to reports, the driver was driving south near the intersection of Northeast 115th Street and Fifth Avenue one morning. While driving, he hit a 17-year-old girl at 8:20 a.m. Police say the girl had been crossing Fifth Avenue at the time. As a result of the auto-pedestrian accident, the girl suffered serious brain injuries and died at the scene.
Brain injuries are common in accidents between cars and people. People have no protection from the mass and speed of a car. Brain injuries can result in life-long disabilities for a person that require extensive rehabilitation and treatment. Depending on the specific injury, no cure may be available for the brain injury and a person can require daily care for the rest of that person’s life.
By determining if the vehicle was negligent in causing the pedestrian accident, victims will be able to take legal action. Negligent drivers can be held financially responsible for the damage — including for brain injuries — that they cause. Financial compensation could be vital to giving accident victims the access they need to appropriate medical treatment following a serious accident.
Source: The Seattle Times, “Girl killed in Northgate accident identified,” Christine Clarridge, April 15, 2014