Maryland family perishes in car accident travelling across country

A Maryland family of four died earlier this month as a result of a car accident while moving across the country. The family, which had decided to make the move to live on the West Coast, was traveling in two separate vehicles to make the trip when the pileup occurred. The 30-year-old father was traveling in a 2010 Ford Mustang while the 28-year-old mother and the couple’s two sons were in a 2007 Toyota Corolla. While on the road, a truck failed to slow down and ploughed into the back of the father’s vehicle, which then pushed his wife’s car under another truck in front of her vehicle. All four family members died at the scene of the pileup.

The crash happened on Interstate 80, between the small towns of Sidney and Potter in Nebraska, very early in the morning. Another accident had occurred a few miles ahead only a short time earlier. The truck driver who initiated the incident has been identified as a 36-year-old man who speaks primarily Czech. A Cheyenne County attorney has said that the man has been charged with four counts of manslaughter and vehicular homicide.

Additionally, a charge of motor vehicle manslaughter of an unborn child has been added after it was discovered that the 28-year-old woman was almost eight months pregnant at the time of the crash. Police say that the truck driver failed to slow down when approaching a number of backed-up vehicles. A court appearance has been set for this week. An interpreter will be on hand to assist the defendant.

There are legal options available to those who have lost family members in a car accident through no fault of their own. If another driver is deemed negligent, as appears to be the case in the above story, a wrongful death claim may be pursued by relatives of car crash victims. The parents and grandparents of the victims could be entitled to not only monetary damages for funeral expenses but also pain and suffering that is sure to follow this tragic accident.

Source: Star Herald, “Family of four died in huge pileup,” Jay Withrow, Sept. 16, 2012