An 86-year old Lacombe, Louisiana, woman recently suffered fatal injuries when her Chrysler sedan struck a Freightliner 18-wheeler truck. The driver of the Freightliner is currently facing charges of negligent homicide and prohibited turning in a curve, as it was determined that he was trying to make an illegal U-turn at the time the fatal motor vehicle accident occurred.
It seems the driver of the Chrysler was not able to see the Freightliner as she rounded the curve in the road and slammed into the side of the 18-wheeler. Making U-turns in any non-designated section of a highway or road is dangerous and, in Louisiana, making U-turns on top of a hill or in a curve is illegal.
The illegal U-turn by the truck driver appears to have caused the death of this unsuspecting motorist. Due to the size of their rigs, truck drivers bear an enormous amount of responsibility when it comes to highway safety. This accident, and woman’s subsequent death, could have been prevented had the driver of the 18-wheeler obeyed the traffic laws and made a U-turn in a designated safe section of highway.
While criminal charges are pending, the family of the crash victim may also bring wrongful death charges against the truck driver. Fatal traffic accidents often leave family members grappling to make sense of the tragic event. While nothing can bring a loved one back, families deserve fair compensation for the pain and loss they inevitably endure, as well as for the financial burdens the sudden death of a loved one often brings. Consulting a wrongful death attorney after losing a loved one due to the illegal or negligent acts of another driver may provide family members with an understanding of what they need to do after such a tragic accident.
Source: NBC 33 TV, “Man arrested for accident that killed Lacombe woman,” Feb. 23, 2012
