A collision between a car and a pickup truck at the intersection of Centerville Road and Monticello Avenue in James City County, Virginia (VA), left both drivers and a 13-year-old passenger in the car badly injured. The car’s driver, who the Virginia Gazette identified as the teen’s mother, was charged with reckless driving for reportedly running a red light while attempting to make a left-hand turn.
The teenager’s injuries were the most severe; she needed to be cut from the wreckage and was listed in the hospital as being in critical condition.
The Virginia Personal Injury Lawyers’ Perspective
The accident illustrates both the dangers of failing to stop at signals and, more generally making left-hand turns. Any time a turning vehicle’s driver does not yield right of way to a vehicle traveling straight, tragedy can result. As Virginia personal injury attorneys, we often take cases in which a moment of distraction or impatience caused an at-fault driver to enter an intersection when the way was not clear. Left-hand turns are often the worst of these crashes, simply because completing such maneuvers often takes vehicles across multiple lanes of oncoming traffic.
Potentionally Helpful Info
The James City County wreck also raises the issue of whether the girl injured through the apparent recklessness of her own mother can file insurance claims for the treatment of, and potential follow-up care for, her severe injuries. The answer is yes. Simply put, an insurance policy covers damages caused by the driver holding the policy, regardless of the relationship between the at-fault person and the injured victim.
Have Questions? Check Out Our Firm’s FAQs
We answer many questions about left-turn crashes and injured passengers who also happen to be friends and family members in our Car and Motorcycle Accident FAQs.
EJL