After deliberating for under an hour, a jury in Louisiana found a man guilty of vehicular homicide on Oct. 17. The conviction was a result of a fatal accident that occurred on Jan. 21, 2012. Witnesses at the trial included people who knew the victim, law enforcement officials and the second victim who was struck by the man’s vehicle. At his upcoming sentencing hearing, the at-fault driver could face between five and 30 years behind bars.
The fatal car accident took place in Baton Rouge near the Pennington Biomedical Center on Perkins Road. After two men were hit by a car, one of the men was pronounced dead at the scene while the other was taken to the hospital with a shattered pelvis. The injured victim required inpatient treatment for almost one month, and he testified at the trial that he has suffered from continued memory problems because of the accident.
According to investigators, the at-fault driver had a blood-alcohol level that was almost four times the legal limit at the time of the accident. A police officer also testified that the driver was found to have bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and an alcoholic odor at the crash scene. The driver was unable to adequately perform a field sobriety test, and video footage of his attempts was shown in court.
Family members of a person who was killed by an impaired driver might be able to seek some financial compensation for their ordeal by filing a wrongful death claim against the at-fault driver’s insurance provider. To ensure that the lawsuit is well supported with all of the evidence that is available, families might choose to seek help filing this type of claim from an attorney.
Source: WAFB, “Man accused of killing cyclist with his car found guilty”, Amber Stegall, October 18, 2014
