Fatal Accident on Philips Highway in Jacksonville, Florida Kills Teenager
An 18 year old was killed in an auto accident on Philips Highway near I-95 in Jacksonville, Florida over the weekend, according to an article on Firstcoastnews.com. The victim, Megan Bunn, died in an accident with an ambulance. There were other serious injuries as a result of the accident. According to the article, the ambulance turned into the path of the pickup truck in which Bunn was riding, causing the crash.
When traffic accidents involve ambulances, police officers and other emergency vehicles, there are different issues that arise when it comes to determining fault for the crash and the subsequent injuries and/or death. Drivers do have an obligation to watch out for emergency vehicles that are properly marked and move out of their way when it is safe to do so. However, ambulance and other emergency vehicle drivers have an obligation to drive safely when responding to or from an emergency. They can speed through traffic and disregard traffic signals, but they cannot disregard other vehicles on the road. They must make sure their emergency lights and sirens are activated and it is safe to speed, make a turn or drive through an intersection with a red light or stop sign at all times. If an emergency vehicle fails to do any of those things, that driver can be found negligent and the ambulance company or the city can be held liable for the damages caused by the negligent driving.
