A 19-year-old Pennsylvania man was recently arraigned on vehicular homicide while DUI and other charges. These charges relate to a tragic auto accident in which his passenger lost her life. It is alleged that the young man was intoxicated at the time of the crash on Oct. 26, 2014.
According to court documents, the fatal accident occurred shortly after 4 a.m. on a Sunday morning. An accident report indicated that the young man was operating a westbound vehicle on a local roadway in South Huntingdon when he failed to navigate a curve and lost control of the car. After striking a tree lying adjacent to the roadway, the car apparently became airborne and struck a second tree before overturning.
The 18-year-old passenger, who was the driver’s girlfriend, suffered multiple serious injuries, and she was airlifted to a hospital in Pittsburgh. She passed away the following day. Allegedly, the driver’s blood alcohol level was recorded at the hospital as .15 percent. The legal limit in Pennsylvania for drivers under the age of 21 is .02 percent.
The surviving family of the deceased passenger in this case may pursue a claim for financial relief for the losses related to this auto accident. Similarly, any Pennsylvania family who loses a loved one in an accident in which another person is deemed negligent is entitled to commence a wrongful death lawsuit in a civil court. Once negligence is established by appropriate proof, the court may award compensation for documented financial and emotional losses that were brought about by the crash
Source: triblive.com, “19-year-old Smithton man charged in girlfriend’s death in South Huntingdon crash“, Paul Peirce, Nov. 3, 2015