Anytime a person dies in a traffic accident it is a tragedy, but when a young person is killed in a car crash the hopes and dreams of that child’s family also die. An entire future erased in a matter of moments. As a Baltimore auto accident lawyer and personal injury attorney, one of the most painful experiences is meeting with the parents of a child lost to a senseless car or trucking crash.
As drivers we are all expected to take care and use caution when traveling Maryland’s highways and surface streets. Of course, accidents happen, but no one wants to experience a fatal crash that takes the life of a loved one. When an individual, young or old, is killed as a result of another person’s negligence, it may be appropriate to file a wrongful death claim.
These kinds of law suits allow members of a family to receive compensation for their loss. While the death of a child does not usually result in lost wages, compensation is still possible in such cases. For example, compensation can also be for loss of comfort, love and or companionship, not just and financial support. One must always keep in mind that death does not preclude recovery for any suffering or pain that the victim may have experienced prior to death as a result of another’s wrongful or negligent actions.
This all came to mind when we read of a teenager killed in a traffic accident in Allegany County not long ago. According to the news report, the two-vehicle crash occurred on US Rte 220 near Cumberland, MD. Fourteen-year-old Emily Crites of Maryland Avenue was riding as a passenger in a Chrysler Sebring was killed when the driver of that car failed to obey a stop sign at Robertson Lane just before 4pm.
As the car, which was being driven by a 17-year-old male, entered the roadway a GMC pickup truck slammed into the passenger side of the vehicle. A police officer in the area heard the sound of the collision and rushed to the crash scene within minutes. The patrolman reportedly administered emergency medical care to the young victim while waiting for fire and emergency responders to arrive.
Shortly thereafter rescuers transported both occupants of the car, as well as the 74-year-old pickup truck driver and his passenger, to Western Maryland Regional Medical Center. Sadly, doctors could not save the young girl and she died of her injuries at the hospital, according to police reports.
Teen dies following U.S. Route 220 crash, Times-News.com, October 4, 2010