On Oct. 28, 2011, a Rider University student from Mount Olive struck a 54-year-old pedestrian on Parkside Avenue in Ewing. In November 2013, she told prosecutors that although she saw the man at the last moment, she failed to avoid the collision before panicking and fleeing the scene.
After the initial auto accident, the Trenton man was then hit by a second vehicle driven by a woman from Ewing. She also fled the scene, and the man was later pronounced dead on the scene by emergency responders. It is unknown whether the first woman could have saved the man’s life, or at least prevented the second hit-and-run collision, had she stopped.
After pleading guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, the first woman was sentenced to a five-year prison term for her actions, and reports state that the other driver was undergoing a separate trial for her role in the man’s death. The surviving family also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against both motorists, but it is unknown how the guilty conviction will affect these proceedings, since the first motorist had a charge of death by automobile dropped as part of her plea deal.
Vehicle accidents can cause serious personal injuries to pedestrians, and when the drivers who cause these tragedies flee, it may be harder for the injured parties to recover. These individuals may find themselves unable to seek damages or insurance payments because there’s nobody to take the blame for the pain they suffer. Although these at-fault individuals may be caught by the authorities later, the amount of time that passes after the accident can leave families with looming medical bills, lost wages or funeral expenses. Accident attorneys may be able to assist these sufferers or their survivors to help them pursue civil lawsuits in order to recoup these costs.
Source: NJ.com, “Former Rider student pleads guilty in hit-and-run Ewing crash that led to pedestrian’s death“, Brendan McGrath, November 20, 2013