The Tucson Police Department announced that they located and detained an alleged hit-and-run driver involved with a Sept. 25 bicycle accident that killed a 58-year-old man. Police charged the accused driver, a 23-year-old woman, with multiple felony charges in connection with the incident that transpired near the intersection of Jacinto Street and Oracle Road.
Police claim that the woman fled the scene of the 12:30 a.m. accident. However, a witness to the crash purportedly followed the 23-year-old woman and notified police.
Authorities suspect that impaired driving might have contributed to the incident. Emergency personnel transported the 58-year-old man to a local hospital, but he ultimately succumbed to the injuries he suffered as a result of the accident. It was not immediately known whether the 23-year-old woman suffered any injuries on account of the incident.
In addition to criminal prosecution, the woman might face a civil lawsuit if, hypothetically, a preponderance of evidence in this case were to indicate that her actionable behavior contributed to the deadly event. That is because certain family members of victims in fatal accidents caused by reckless or negligent drivers may retain a personal injury attorney and file a wrongful death claim against the at-fault driver.
In this way, bereaved family members may seek to recover funeral expenses, burial costs, estate administration bills, lost earnings and other economic losses they suffered as a result of the deadly accident. Moreover, claimants in a wrongful death suit may seek restitution for noneconomic damages as well, such as those damages intended to punish the at-fault party. In any case, it may be helpful for bereaved families to consider retaining the counsel and representation of an attorney and file their claim in a timely manner.
Source: Arizona Daily Independent, ‘TPD arrests suspect in fatal hit and run bicycle collision”, Sept. 26, 2014.
Source: Tucson News Now, “Tucson Police arrest suspect in deadly hit and run“, Lydia Camarillo, September 25, 2014