Cincinnati parents often warn their children to hold someone’s hand when they need to cross busy streets. Getting to the other side of a throughway can be very dangerous as some cars travel fast and not all drivers are attentive to individuals in the roadways. Even when pedestrians are in crosswalks they can still suffer harm when drivers do no yield to them and cause serious pedestrian accidents.
Just before Christmas in the community of Oakley an 80-year-old man was hit by a sport utility vehicle in the vicinity of Crossroads Church. The elderly victim, who was in the lines of the crosswalk when he was hit, suffered serious injuries and was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. He later died from the injuries that he sustained in the crash.
The driver of the sport utility vehicle was not hurt and law enforcement officials report that he is working with them to figure out why the accident happened. The accident occurred at around 3:30 in the afternoon and investigators do not believe the driver was drunk or speeding when the crash occurred. It is unknown if the responsible driver will face any criminal sanctions for his part in the fatal crash.
The family of the elderly victim, though, may have rights to seek damages from the driver of the sport utility vehicle. In some personal injury cases the family members of deceased victims may sue responsible parties under wrongful death theories of law. A wrongful death lawsuit may, in successful cases, provide the surviving family members with the compensation they need to pay their lost loved one’s final medical bills, funeral costs, and other expenses that arose from the fatal pedestrian accident.
Source: fox19.com, “Pedestrian struck, killed by SUV on Madison Road in Oakley,” Kim Schupp, Dec. 21, 2016