1 Killed, 3 Injured When Teen Runs Stop Sign Near Zebulon, NC | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

An 18-year-old passenger suffered fatal injuries when the driver of the car in which she was riding ran a stop sign and collided with another car on the night of October 1, 2016. The deadly crash happened just north of Zebulon, North Carolina (NC), at the Franklin County intersection of Pilot-Riley Road and Williams-White Road.

 

 

Another passenger in the at-fault driver’s vehicle suffered injuries, as did two people in the car that the at-fault driver T-boned. North Carolina Highway Patrol troopers have charged the stop sign runner with failing to stop and causing a death while operating a motor vehicle.

Officials told reporters that neither alcohol nor drugs appear to have played a role in causing the fatal collision. Other explanations could be driver distraction and excess speed. The intersection is reportedly poorly lit, but all that means is that drivers who approach the stop sign at night have an extra duty to look for the sign and to be prepared to slow down and yield right of way.

One other detail reported on this case is that that the teenager who lost his life was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. North Carolina law specifies that adults cannot be held liable for contributing to causing their injuries or deaths simply because they drove or rode unbuckled. This means that the family of the young college student could file wrongful claims against the insurance policy of the young man who ran the stop sign without worrying about having their requests for compensation and damages immediately rejected.

EJL