A seemingly minor accident in which a man walking along the shoulder of a busy highway was clipped by the passenger-side mirror of a passing pickup truck turned deadly in Chesapeake, Virginia (VA), on January 11, 2012. The fatal pedestrian wreck happened at around 6:00 pm in the 2200 block of Military Highway. A combination of poor visibility on the rainy evening and a lack of sidewalks appear to have set the stage for the tragedy.
WAVY-TV 10 reported that the driver of the truck stopped at the scene and that emergency medical personnel responded quickly. Although the accident victim’s injuries were not originally considered serious, the 45-year-old man passed away shortly after being transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. The television station also noted that the man “was wearing dark clothing and was walking east bound in an unlit stretch of road.”
That last detail undoubtedly prevented police from immediately filing charges against the pickup driver. Regardless, as Virginia wrongful death attorneys who often represent families of people killed in traffic accidents, we know that “I never saw him” is no defense against liability for taking another’s life. We know also know that the driver has probably never felt worse. But that person’s regret and lack of criminal culpability cannot and should not prevent his or her insurance company from doing all it can to quickly and fairly compensated the deceased victim’s loved ones for their loss.
Sadly, we also note that this man’s untimely death continues an unwelcome upward trend in fatal pedestrian accidents. Last year saw the most such accidents in Chesapeake since 2006. We sincerely hope that 2012 does not see similar numbers of deadly crashes involving people on foot.
EJL