Highway 99 provides a hazard to all drivers even in the best of conditions. When wet roads or unexpected obstacles appear, the dangers only grow along the fast-moving Central Valley highway.
Careless drivers can ignore current conditions or become negligent in their duty to look out for roadway hazards and end up causing devastating accidents.
Drivers might think that an accident during extenuating circumstances, such as a rainstorm, or a traffic jam, can’t be blamed on anyone, or should be blamed on mother nature.
But that’s not true when considering legal fault in an accident. Drivers must always travel at speeds safe for conditions no matter what the posted speed limit is. If rainy conditions or an obstacle in or just off the road are present, drivers must slow to a speed that will keep them from losing control.
When they proceed at full speed without showing caution, they can be held fully accountable for the accidents they cause.
Driver Killed After Collision Involving a Disabled Vehicle in Selma
A driver was killed after a collision between a truck and a disabled car in western Selma Monday Afternoon. KGPE-TV reports the accident took place around 4 p.m. along Highway 99 near Floral Avenue on October 25, 2021.
The California Highway Patrol says a 27-year-old man was sitting in his disabled car in the center divider and traffic had slowed to get around him. They say a 65-year-old man in a truck approached the traffic jam and attempted to hit his brakes. He was unable to slow the truck and swerved to avoid the stopped traffic. The truck struck the back of the disabled car.
The 27-year-old driver of the car received major injuries and, tragically, was later pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities don’t believe drugs or alcohol played a factor in the accident. They did note heavy rainfall causing wet conditions at the time of the incident.
Support for Families After a Selma Highway Accident
Every day families across California get word of a highway tragedy that has claimed the life of a loved one. Often, a little more caution shown by the at-fault driver could have prevented such a tragic outcome.
For the families left behind, filing a wrongful death claim can be the best option in order to protect spouses, children, and other close relatives from financial hardships. This claim would ask the insurance company representing the at-fault driver for help with the costs of a funeral and burial and the payment of emergency response fees.
A wrongful death lawsuit also sees to the family’s financial health in the years to come when they’ll have to move on without the love and financial support the deceased had always provided.
Contact a Car Accident Lawyer Serving Selma Victims
If you or a family member are the victims of a careless driver, don’t wait to get help. Contact a Selma Car Accident Attorney with Maison Law for a free consultation on your case.
It’s your right to know what’s available to recovering victims and to families who have had a loved one taken from them. Don’t trust insurance companies to inform you of everything you should know in the aftermath of a tragedy.
