Our police officers protect and serve the citizens of Virginia and North Carolina very well. Since they go from call to call helping people, they are on the road a lot. Many times, it is first responders and police who are injured while helping a disabled motorist or someone injured in a car accident.
So it’s good news to hear that a state trooper has been cleared of any wrongdoing and allowed to go back to work after an accident in which he and another car struck a pedestrian. The investigation into the incident showed that the officer couldn’t have avoided the accident. The accident occurred when the pedestrian was walking in the middle of the left lane on U.S. Highway 17 Bypass in Elizabeth City around 3 am during late July 2011.
The area is not residential, and drivers would not normally expect to encounter pedestrians. The walker was also in the middle of the road in the dark. The Highway Patrol is waiting for the results of a toxicology report to determine whether the pedestrian might have been impaired at the time of the collision.
As experienced North Carolina personal injury attorneys, my colleagues and I work closely with police and first responders while investigating car accident evidence. We know that protecting the public can be dangerous work. Police officers and firefighters in North Carolina, as elsewhere, are often in harm’s way. Risk of injury – – often serious injury – – is inherent in the service of public safety. Although police officers are well-versed in criminal and traffic law, they may not know the ins and outs of personal injury law if they themselves are injured. Therefore, we recommend reading our free consumer guide Best Guide to Car Accident Injuries in North Carolina.
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