Many Louisiana drivers can understand why an individual would succumb to road rage. However, it creates a dangerous situation in which people can be seriously injured or killed. A car accident that results from this reckless and irresponsible behavior could forever alter the lives of those involved and their families.
In March 2011, a road rage incident involving two drivers ended in a deadly crash on Interstate 10. As the two vehicles careened along the highway in what is characterized as a “game of cat and mouse,” the driver of one of the vehicles lost control. His pickup truck veered through the median and crashed head-on into the vehicle of an unsuspecting driver and her four passengers.
The driver, her three children and a teenage co-worker were all killed in the accident. Both drivers were charged, and when the other driver — a woman — went to trial, testimony revealed that the victims’ screams could be heard as their vehicle burned. The 34-year-old man who also participated in the road rage incident was found guilty of five counts of vehicular homicide for which he was recently sentenced to eight years in prison.
Even if a criminal conviction is secured by Louisiana prosecutors, that does not preclude families of car accident victims from filing wrongful death claims in civil court. In fact, any conviction related to the deaths of their loved ones could be used as evidence in the civil action to establish negligence. Successfully litigating such claims could result in an award of damages that will not bring back a lost loved one, but could help with the financial burdens incurred in the aftermath of their deaths.
Source: nola.com, “Louisiana man gets 8-year sentence after I-10 wreck kills 5”, Sept. 1, 2016
