Hit-And-Run drivers create so much tragedy with their acts of irresponsibility. The original accident can have severe consequences. Then the driver can speed away to avoid blame and leave a victim and family members to deal with the physical, emotional, and financial hardships by themselves.
Bakersfield families pay the extreme price for these heartless mistakes every year. In 2019, city officials recorded 251 accidents that involved an at-fault driver leaving the scene. Those collisions resulted in a tragic seven lives lost for the year and left another 329 victims injured. What’s more, over 16% of those accidents involved a pedestrian.
Hit-And-Run Driver Strikes And Kills Bakersfield Pedestrian
A man tragically lost his life after he was struck in Bakersfield early Monday morning. KGET-TV reported the accident happened on Highway 99 around 1 a.m. near Ming Avenue on March 8, 2021.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) says the man was walking on northbound Highway 99 when he was struck by an unknown car. Officers say the man died on the scene from his injuries. Investigators do not believe drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash.
The driver of the vehicle fled the scene after the collision. The search for the driver and the vehicle involved continues. If you have information about the accident you’re asked to call the Bakersfield CHP Office.
Finding Support for Families After Hit-And-Run Accidents
Families can be informed of a tragic accident that’s taken the life of a loved one and have just a matter of days before they get targeted with bills and other expenses. The costs of hospital care, a funeral and burial, and previous debt can all come due at once before a family has even had the chance to mourn their loss.
The family should never have to deal with these hardships when a careless driver was at-fault, but in hit-and-run cases, there may not be anyone located or identified to rightfully accept blame. In these cases, close relatives may still be able to seek financial relief by filing a claim against the victim’s own car insurance policy, or on a family member’s policy that may have covered the victim. This claim would seek money from the portion of coverage concerning uninsured motorists. An attorney can be helpful in these claims against an insurance company to make sure the family isn’t cheated out of support they may be in desperate need of.
If there is positive news and an investigation results in the arrest of a hit-and-run driver, a family can move forward with a wrongful death claim against that driver’s insurance provider. A hit-and-run driver may be facing felony criminal charges and heading for a trial, but the family’s civil claim can proceed no matter where the criminal trial stands.
Contact a Bakersfield Pedestrian Accident Lawyer
Pedestrians are owed caution from drivers no matter where they meet because of how unprotected people on foot are. That vulnerability can make drivers liable in accidents no matter the circumstances.
If you’ve lost a loved one to a hit-and-run pedestrian accident, don’t let your family face off against insurance agents alone. The family should be allowed to cope with their loss free from the worry of extremely high medical bills and the costs of settling the estate of the deceased.
Contact attorney Martin Gasparian for a free case evaluation for your family. Mr. Gasparian believes every family should work directly with their lawyer, get honest advice, and the personalized attention to detail such a tragic case deserves.
