Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog
One of the most traumatic assaults on the human body can come when one is, perhaps, blissfully unaware of the impending dangers all around. In urban areas, such as Baltimore, Rockville, Gaithersburg or Washington, D.C., we can see all kinds of personal injury scenarios just waiting to be realized. What many people do not understand is that the elements of a serious or fatal injury accident can come together at the most unexpected times; like walking in the city.
As Maryland automobile and trucking-accident lawyers, I and my staff are constantly aware of the hundreds of innocent victims who become caught up in life-threatening situations every year in this state. Whether looking at a slip-and-fall mishap or a high-speed car crash, every type of incident that leads to bodily harm or potentially fatal injuries can greatly affect a family and loved ones of a victim. Especially in cases where a person has done nothing more than go about their life or daily routine, but who is then seriously hurt through the negligence of another individual, this is where a personal injury lawyer can help.
As we said, even walking in the city or other urban center can expose a person to life-threatening hazards, including being hit by a taxi cab, city bus or passenger car. Pedestrians are extremely vulnerable, as evidenced by the fact that people have been injured or killed after being hit by a bicycle messenger, much less a family sedan or commercial delivery truck. And since the human body has no real protection against an impact with a large object, closed-head trauma and critical internal injuries can likely result and put that individuals life in jeopardy.
In some instances, the negligent party may choose to flee the scene of the collision, which can lead to serious additional charges once the police catch up with the perpetrator. While it may be hard to imagine for most people, there are some individuals who choose to avoid their responsibility for a traffic accident, rather than own up to it on the spot. This was apparently the case following a 2011 pedestrian-car accident in Charles County, MD, when a La Plata man was allegedly struck and killed by a motor vehicle along a stretch of Rte 6 not far from Wheatley Rd.
What brought this story back to the front pages was that the Maryland State Police finally located a man who investigators believed was responsible for the crash that left 57-year-old Darrell Sallie dead near the side of the road in March 2011. According to authorities, Mr. Sallie had been traveling on foot, west along the shoulder of Rte 6 when the crash occurred. Based on police reports, the victim had been hit by an unidentified motor vehicle sometime within a roughly 12-hour period from 10pm on a Thursday evening until the next morning when his body was discovered around 11am.
News reports indicated that police located a number of broken car parts near the man’s dead body, which investigators analyzed and determined that the suspect vehicle was either a ‘97 or ‘98 Ford F150 pickup. According to Maryland State Police, a number of tipsters had provided information thought to be useful in locating the hit-and-run driver; however nothing came from those early tips. It wasn’t until last fall that the MSP received a solid lead that helped them find the alleged suspect, a 25-year-old La Plata resident.
Having been sold previous to their finding the suspect, MSP officers found the vehicle’s latest owner who consented to having the vehicle studied to compare the broken parts found at the crash site to that of the existing vehicle. This past April, this new evidence was submitted to a grand jury formed in Charles County grand jury, which then issued an indictment on the strength of that evidence. The indictment stated that the defendant left the scene of a serious or fatal accident.
Police say man left scene of hit-and-run, SoMDNews.com, April 23, 2012