A 13-year-old is currently recovering at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital from a fractured leg he suffered in a hit-and-run accident shortly after 7 am on October 24, 2011. The boy was running to catch his school bus along Rangtang Road when he tripped and got run into by a driver who, the victim said, “kind of slowed down, but then … just kept going.”
In this repot from WAVY TV-10, the middle school student recounts the crash:
Gloucester, VA, teen injured in hit-and-run crash
Other drivers, including a doctor, did stop to help the injured teen and try to comfort him before he could be transported to the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters for emergency treatment. The youngster now faces several more days in traction and weeks or months of physical therapy.
This hit-and-run on the Peninsula bears similarities to a September 2011 pedestrian accident in Virginia Beach that left an 8-year-old child with traumatic brain injuries. The girl was crossing Sandbridge Road to get to Red Mill Elementary School for soccer practice when a driver ran her over. Police are still looking for that person but have already determined that the collision was not due to negligence or traffic violations and do not intend to file charges.
Both of those accidents came in a year that has seen a near record of pedestrian fatalities in Chesapeake, VA, each of which highlighted the risks people on foot face when sharing roads with motorsts.
Regardless of the outcomes of the criminal investigations into the crashes that left young pedestrians with potentially life-altering injuries, the at-fault drivers could be liable for civil damages. As Virginia personal injury attorneys, my colleagues and I have represented many people who got hurt by car and truck drivers who, due to negligence or distraction, hit them while they were crossing streets. Even when police do not charge at-fault drivers, people are always responsible for their actions behind the wheel.
EJL