People in San Diego may have heard about a couple of serious car crashes at a University City intersection last month. The two accidents happened within two hours of each other at the intersection of La Jolla Village Drive and Genessee, and both involved drivers running a red light and colliding with other vehicles.
In one of the accidents a woman in a Toyota ran a red light and hit a car coming out of a hospital driveway. The woman suffered a major injury, but fortunately the other driver was relatively unharmed.
However, the other one of these accidents proved fatal for the victim, and police have arrested the woman who ran the red light on suspicion of DUI and manslaughter charges. The alleged drunk driver was a 39-year-old woman who claimed to be on her way to a dental appointment when her Prius struck an Audi and a Volkswagen Golf as she blew through the red light. The driver of the Volkswagen, a man in his 70’s, was killed. In addition, a woman in his car suffered serious injuries in the collision. The drivers of the Audi suffered only minor injuries.
City officials apparently need to take a hard look at the safety of this intersection, as these two car accidents certainly raise questions about the design or other characteristics that make running red lights a relatively common problem. However, drunk drivers pose a menace no matter where they are, and need to be dealt with harshly by facing the consequences of their actions.
In this case the suspected drunk driver could be held liable for her actions in criminal court as well as in providing compensation to her victims. A man died as a result of her illegal and dangerous behavior, and his family should be compensated for his wrongful death. In addition, the man’s passenger faces serious injuries and medical expenses, for which the drunk driver could be held responsible.
Source: U-T San Diego, “Driver arrested in fatal University City crash,” Pauline Repard and Ana Ceballos, Oct. 23, 2013
