A five-car accident has left one woman tragically dead and a child seriously hurt, according to local authorities. Colorado emergency services, responsible for responding to fatal car accidents, were on the scene to treat the injured parties. So far, the driver believed to have initiated the crash has not been charged, though police are waiting for toxicology scans to come back before deciding whether to move forward with criminal proceedings.
The details of the crash are incomplete as of this report, but it has been confirmed that five vehicles were involved in a chain-reaction accident that took place around 7:00 a.m. the morning of Nov. 13. Four vehicles had come to a stop at a red light in the right-hand lane when a pickup truck failed to brake in time and rear-ended the first of the four cars, a minivan driven by the victim. The force of the impact killed the female driver of the minivan.
A male child of indeterminate age who was in the minivan as well suffered life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to a children’s hospital. Police do not know what caused the pickup truck to initiate the crash, but they are still investigating the specifics of the accident as well as the driver. Police say there was no immediate cause to believe drugs or alcohol were involved, but their investigation is ongoing at this time.
Even if the driver of the pickup truck was not drunk or high at the time of the crash, fatal car accidents caused by driver error are still cause for criminal charges. Regardless whether the case goes to a Colorado criminal court or not, the family of the deceased woman and the family of the injured child are both entitled to file civil suits against the driver for wrongful death and personal injury, respectively. These suits must be supported by evidence of material contribution to the crash on the part of the accused driver.
Source: 9news.com, “Woman dies in 5-car crash in Lakewood Monday morning”, Kelly Jensen, Nov. 13, 2017
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