One woman is dead and another has been injured following a two-car crash near Austin Bluffs on the morning of April 4. Police in Colorado Springs responded to the accident that claimed the life of an unknown woman and sent a 19-year-old woman to the hospital. While police have not yet filed criminal charges, it may ultimately be possible for the family to sue for wrongful death.
According to the information available at the time of this report, the 19-year-old woman may have driven through a stop sign before striking a second car. One occupant of the second vehicle, a woman who has not been identified publicly at this time, was killed in the impact. It is unclear whether anyone else was in the struck vehicle at the time of the crash.
The 19-year-old was also taken to a local hospital with injuries that have been described as non life-threatening.
Police say this crash marks the year’s 10th traffic fatality in Colorado Springs. They believe the accident was likely not predicated by drug or alcohol use, but their investigation is ongoing at this time. Even if drugs and alcohol were not factors in the accident, it still remains possible that the young driver will be held accountable for the crash if it is proven that she ran a stop sign.
In similar cases where negligence by another driver resulted in fatalities to others, surviving loved ones of the victims reserve the right to file wrongful death suits in civil court. Proof of any type of negligent or reckless conduct could be enough for a court to award fiscal compensation for damages that could help to cover many of the unfortunate end-of-life expenses these families are now facing.