Four students from another state took a trip to Southern California as a final high school outing before graduation. Sadly, their vacation ended in tragedy when a suspected drunk driver killed three of them. Tragically, many young lives are lost in car accidents during spring break every year.
An accident report by the Huntington Beach Police Department indicates that the students were traveling north on Pacific Coast Highway shortly after 1 a.m. on a recent Thursday when their car was rear-ended by another vehicle. The force of the crash sent their car into a traffic sign, and the impact caused the car to go up in flames. Only one occupant of that car managed to escape.
The fiery crash caused the deaths of the other three students. Law enforcement suspected the driver of the other car of driving while intoxicated. The 27-year-old woman was arrested, and she will now be facing charges of suspected gross vehicular manslaughter and DUI. Authorities say she suffered no injuries.
Regardless of the outcome of the criminal charges in such cases, the surviving family members of deceased victims of car accidents may have grounds to file wrongful death claims in a California civil court. However, they will have to establish negligence on the part of the party deemed at fault, and although this could be challenging, evidence of drunk driving in the criminal case could simplify this process. The services of an experienced wrongful death attorney can be utilized to further ease the process in pursuit of recovery of financial and emotional damages.
Source: NBC Los Angeles, “Las Vegas Teens Killed by Suspected DUI Driver While Visiting Huntington Beach“, March 30, 2018
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