People in the San Diego area may have heard about a horrendous car accident that cost one innocent cyclist his life and will very likely send the driver to prison for a significant portion of his.
The victim, a husband and father, was on his way home from work when a stolen car being driven by a 29-year-old with a checkered criminal past slammed into him out of nowhere. The force of the car crash completely destroyed the man’s bike, throwing the helpless cyclist into the air. The car then slammed into a utility pole and finally stopped when it smashed into the trunk of a tremendous tree.
The mourning family members gathered at the arraignment of the man who is accused of taking the life of this man. He has been charged with multiple serious criminal charges, including gross vehicular manslaughter, DUI, car theft and possession of methamphetamine. Prosecutors also noted that the defendant has other serious crimes in his past, including 7 felonies in the past 10 years. It also turns out that he was actually on probation at the time of the wreck.
Family members of and others struck by the magnitude of this tragedy and have maintained an ongoing vigil at the scene of the car accident.
It is impossible to replace a loving husband and father, but the family of the victim should be entitled to compensation to help them replace, at the very least, the man’s financial and other contributions to the family. With the help of an experienced personal injury attorney, the victim’s family could recover damages for the man’s death, and, perhaps, send a powerful message that drunk drivers cannot get away with this type of behavior.
Source: NBC 7 “Driver accused in cyclist’s death has criminal past,” Dave Summers, R. Stickney and Artie Ojeda, March 6, 2014
