In the early evening hours of a recent Monday, New York police were dispatched to Woodbury. They arrived at the scene of a multi-vehicle accident. Investigators later stated that the collision appears to have been caused by a driver’s unsafe lane change.
The motorist in question is a 24-year-old man. He was driving a Ford Explorer at the time and is said to have attempted to pass the vehicle in the line of traffic. During the maneuver, the man’s vehicle reportedly crossed a double yellow line, which placed his vehicle in an oncoming lane. The Explorer then struck another vehicle, head-on.
The head-on collision resulted in a fatality
The force of impact in a head-on collision often has disastrous results. Sadly, in this case, the driver of the car that was struck did not survive. After the initial impact, the Explorer veered back into its original lane and struck the vehicle the driver had attempted to pass. Several people involved in the crash suffered injuries not considered life-threatening and were transported to an area hospital for medical treatment.
When driver negligence causes a death
Many New York families have suffered the devastating news that a loved one of theirs has been killed in a motor vehicle collision. In cases where an accident is determined to have been caused by driver negligence, families are often left dealing with feelings of anger and frustration, knowing that their loved ones’ lives may have been spared were it not for irresponsible decisions behind the wheel. It is impossible to adequately compensate someone for the loss of a family member’s life; however, a wrongful death claim in civil court may result in a monetary award that can be used to help offset funeral costs and other financial losses associated with the tragedy.