A June 3, 2014, hit-and-run pedestrian accident on Brookshire Boulevard in Charlotte, North Carolina (NC), left the victim fighting for his life. Despite sustaining life-threatening traumatic brain injuries in the collision, the man remained conscious long enough to identify the suspected vehicle as a silver or grey pickup truck. Police continue to search for the at-fault driver and are asking anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers at (704) 334-1600.
The collision did not occur at a crosswalk, but the driver has incurred liability by fleeing the scene. State laws requires people involved in any automobile accident to remain at the scene until emergency personnel arrive. Providing assistance to injured people is also expected but not specifically required by statute. As a person who knows the crash victim told WSOC-TV, “It is just hard to imagine that someone would hit a man and leave him in the street to die. … They didn’t even call for help.”
When taken to the hospital, the person struck by the driver who failed to stop experienced significant brain bleeding and swelling. As my North Carolina personal injury and wrongful death law firm colleagues know from other cases we have handled, potentially fatal head injuries encompass much more than skull fractures and concussions. We also know that even after the man comes out of his coma, he likely faces months — if not years — of TBI-related treatment and occupational therapy.
We wish the brain-injured man a full recovery and hope the person who ran him down then ran away is identified so he or she can be held financially responsible for the pain and suffering inflicted.
EJL