A hit-and-run collision in Norfolk, Virginia (VA), left a pedestrian with fatal injuries. The deadly crash occurred at the intersection of Tidewater Drive and Goff Street at around 9 pm on September 3, 2016. The following day, police arrested a woman who they believe is the at-fault driver who fled the scene.
The victim was crossing the street in an area controlled by stoplights and marked with crosswalks. He was found unconscious and was transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, but he died of injuries within hours of being struck and abandoned by the hit-and-run driver.
Virginia law requires drivers to yield right of way to pedestrians using crosswalks. Drivers must also wait for pedestrians to clear an intersection before making a right turn on red. The driver who caused this fatal accident in Norfolk appears to have violated one of those traffic rules. The driver made a tragedy even worse by committing the crime of leaving a crash scene. Drivers who become involved in wrecks are required by law to stay put until police and emergency medical personnel arrive. That rule exists in order to ensure that injured victims have access to first aid and so that investigators can collect information and evidence.
My Virginia wrongful death attorney colleagues and I know that making hit-and-run drivers settle insurance claims and pay damages to victims is difficult, but we also know that doing so is possible. If the woman taken into custody for causing the Norfolk pedestrian’s death was the driver, she should be held accountable under both the civil and criminal laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
EJL