During the holiday season, family members who do not ordinarily see each other on a regular basis have a chance to do so. For instance, the recent Thanksgiving holiday was a chance for many Louisiana residents to get together with family they may not have seen for some time. Traveling the highways and interstates over the holiday weekend could be dangerous as is illustrated by a car accident that took the lives of three members of one family on the Saturday following Thanksgiving.
After spending the holiday with family who had not yet met their 4-month-old son, the Baton Rouge family was on Interstate 10 heading home. As they traveled west around 3 a.m., a box truck was sitting on the shoulder of the roadway. When the box truck attempted to move back into traffic, it did so in front of the family’s pickup truck and a collision occurred.
Each of the adults was wearing a seat belt and the baby was strapped into a rear-facing car seat. Nevertheless, none of them survived the impact. The 22-year-old mother died in the wreckage. Her boyfriend and father of her child, age 20, was rushed to Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center where he died shortly thereafter. The baby managed to live longer than his parents, but succumbed to his injuries the same afternoon.
The Louisiana State Police reports that the crash is still under investigation. Meanwhile, the families of the victims retain the right to file wrongful death claims in connection with this tragic car accident. Before the court will consider an award of damages, the families will be required to establish negligence. If successful, a monetary judgment may be ordered that could provide the families with financial restitution for the damages sustained because of the deaths of their family members.
Source: theadvocate.com, “Baton Rouge couple, infant son die in I-10 crash; family ‘truly hurt … most definitely not questioning God’s work’“, Danielle Maddox Kinchen, Nov. 28, 2015
