When someone causes an accident or hits a pedestrian, there’s a natural inclination to panic. Whether it’s a fear of retaliation from the person who was hit or trying to avoid the legal repercussions, the decision to leave the scene of a crash is always wrong. Most people would agree with the above statement, but hit-and-run accidents are still a quite common occurrence in Louisiana.
It happened again on the streets of Haughton in early June. A 50-year-old man’s body was discovered in the road at around 9:30 p.m. Authorities investigated and reported that the man was hit when a garbage truck was backing down the road and ran the man over. It’s not clear whether he died immediately or after some time, but the driver of the garbage truck allegedly fled the scene. Police caught up with the driver two days later at a friend’s house where he was staying.
He’s being held on a $41,000 bond and is facing charges of hit-and-run driving and negligent homicide. There is no word on whether alcohol was involved in the accident.
In a case like this one, an attorney could look at several factors in determining negligence in a civil case. Was the driver distracted at the time? What were his reasons for backing down the road? Did the garbage collection company provide proper training for the driver? Was the truck maintained so that the sight lines were clear, or was something blocking his view that night?
If you’re involved in a hit-and-run, the first call should be the police. The next call after that should be to a Louisiana attorney. He or she may be able to mount a case that could result in compensation.
Source: ksla.com, “Haughton man struck, hit by trash truck,” Victoria Shirley, June 11, 2014
