Local authorities are still in the process of investigating whether alcohol and/or unsafe speed played a role in a horrific crash on U.S. 90 on New Year’s Day. The brutal car accident claimed the lives of three people, including two teenagers, and sent a half dozen more (including five children) to local Florida hospitals. So far, no criminal charges have been filed in connection with this tragic case.
The accident report states that an SUV carrying a family of seven people was traveling along U.S. 90 when a car carrying several teenagers and traveling on the wrong side of the road struck the SUV head-on. The force of the collision made twisted wrecks out of both vehicles and set the SUV on fire. Two teenagers, a boy and a girl and both 17 years old, and the 31-year-old driver of the SUV were pronounced dead at the scene.
Five children and a second adult had to be extricated from the burning SUV and rushed to local hospitals. Their conditions are unknown at this time. Police are still trying to determine why the younger driver was traveling on the wrong side of the road, and they have alluded to the fact that their investigation will include determining whether the driver was operating the vehicle recklessly and/or while intoxicated.
It was unclear from the report whether the driver of the car was killed in the car accident. If the driver is deceased, no criminal charges will be filed, but if the driver survived and Florida police determine he or she was responsible for the crash, that person could face criminal charges. Regardless, the family of the deceased victims and those injured are entitled to file wrongful death or personal injury suits, as the case may be, against the teenage driver (or, if deceased, the driver’s estate) and any ancillary owners of the car he or she was driving.
Source: wtsp.com, “3 dead, 6 injured in fiery crash in Florida”, Jan. 1, 2015