A pedestrian pushing his stalled car was struck by a big rig truck in Buena Park Wednesday and killed.
The accident happened at 2:28 a.m. at the intersection of Knott Ave. and Orangethorpe Ave., in front of Buena Park Junior High School. According to the Buena Park Police Department, the victim's car, an Infinit sedan, had stalled in the center lane. The driver and his passenger got out and began pushing the car. A passing commercial truck, traveling southbound on Knott Ave., struck the victim.
The victim, whose identity has not been released, was pronounced dead at the scene. His passenger suffered minor injuries.
The big rig driver stopped at the scene and cooperated with police officers. According to the Buena Park Police Department, the truck driver will likely not face charges.
Whose fault was the accident? Will the truck driver's insurance company pay?
There is no question that the insurance carrier for the truck driver will argue that the victim was at fault because the victim's car was stopped in a lane of travel and the truck driver could not have avoided hitting it. However, there is likely some fault on the truck driver. The percentage of fault on the truck driver depends on the facts of the case. Factors that affect the percentage of fault on the truck driver:
Were the disabled vehicle's hazard lights on?
What were lighting conditions like at the scene?
What was the truck driver's speed as he approached the disabled vehicle?
Was the truck driver distracted?( Text messaging, cell phone use, distracted by music, an iPad, a passenger, etc.)
How long had the truck driver been awake? Was he a tired driver, which would have reduced his reaction time?
Were other drivers able to avoid the disabled car before the impact occurred?
Even if there was some percentage of fault on the victim, the victim's family can make a claim against the truck driver. Under the "comparative negligence" doctrine, the value of the claim will be reduced by the percentage of fault placed on the victim. Find out more about comparative negligence and how it affects an injury claim by contacting a personal injury lawyer.
McGee, Lerer and Associates is a Long Beach personal injury law firm which specializes in serious injury and wrongful death claims. A lawyer at our firm is available 24/7 for a free consultation. If you retain our firm, there is no up-front fee. We are paid at the end of the case, out of the money we recover for our client. If we recover nothing, there is no fee.