Young Girl Dies After Being Hit By SUV in Accident in Jacksonville, Florida
A mother and her two children were hit by an SUV in a traffic crash on San Jose Boulevard near Kori Road in Jacksonville, Florida. One of the children died from her injuries, the mother (Nora Springer) was injured but survived and the other child was not injured according to an article on Firstcoastnews.com.
According to the article, the mother and her two children were crossing San Jose Boulevard with the proper walk signal, but the signal changed and the SUV had a green light before they could reach the other side of San Jose Boulevard. The article did not provide any further details, and it is unclear who was at fault for the tragic accident, and death and injuries that resulted.
In a traffic crash involving a vehicle and pedestrians, when determining fault for the crash, the first place to look is the traffic signals. However, even where the pedestrians do not have the walk signal (or green light) or they are crossing where there is no crosswalk, the vehicle driver can still be partially, or primarily, at fault for the crash. Even where the vehicle has the green light, particularly when the light has just turned green, it is the responsibility of the driver to make sure there are no pedestrians in the road. Because of the vulnerable nature of pedestrians, vehicle drivers must be extra careful to watch out for them even when the vehicles have the green light and the right of way. It is not uncommon to see situations where people with kids, people who are injured/disabled or people who are elderly cannot cross the road completely in the time it takes for the walk signal or green light to stay illuminated. This is particularly true for streets with several lanes going in each direction like San Jose Blvd. In such cases, regardless of the green light and the right of way, it is important for vehicle drivers to look out for pedestrians at busy intersections, particularly a mother and two children. The failure of a driver to properly look out for others can result in liability for a driver in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit even where a driver has the right of way.
