Fatal Crash on Merrill Road and Ft. Carolina Road in Arlington Area of Jacksonville, Florida
A deadly accident in the Arlington area of Jacksonville, Florida apparently was caused by a driver who was earlier seen weaving through traffic, according to an article on Firstcoastnews.com. In Florida, when there is a more routine accident, a police officer will arrive, speak with the drivers involved in the accident, perhaps talk to a witness if available and then make a fairly quick decision regarding who was at fault for the crash and give that person a ticket. Unless the police officer actually witnessed the crash, his/her determination of who was at fault and who deserved the ticket is irrelevant in the subsequent personal injury lawsuit.
For more serious crashes that involve serious injuries and/or death, the police take a much more deliberate approach. A traffic homicide detective will likely be called to the scene to investigate exactly how and why the auto accident occurred. Part of that investigation involves taking pictures of the vehicles, the crash scene, the area where the crash occurred and any markings in or near the road relevant to the accident. Measurements are also often taken. Another important part of the investigation is to locate and interview witnesses. Eyewitnesses can obviously be helpful to tell investigators what happened in the crash and fill in any holes left by the physical evidence. In a crash like this, where there is evidence that one of the drivers was weaving in and out of traffic, eyewitnesses can be crucial to reconstructing the crash.
Personal injury and wrongful death lawyers can use and build on the investigation done by the police. They can retain their own accident reconstructionist experts, interview witnesses in more detail and hire their own investigators to find additional witnesses and information to assert the interests of their clients. In a case such as this, every effort would be made to find out how and why the driver alleged to have been weaving was driving that way and use that information to obtain a good recovery for the family of the deceased party.
