A Livingston Parish crash on Louisiana Highway 40 resulted in the death of a 39-year-old man. The Nov. 29 accident involved two vehicles, one of which crossed the highway’s centerline immediately before the collision, according to officials.
The 39-year-old man was traveling west in a 2011 Ford Fusion. An eastbound Ford F-150 allegedly traversed the centerline and hit the oncoming Fusion head-on.
The 39-year-old Fusion driver died as a result of the injuries he suffered in the collision, according to officials. Authorities reported that the F-150 driver was not injured. Reportedly, no charges have been filed as a result of the crash, and the investigation is still ongoing.
It was not initially clear why the driver of the F-150 crossed the centerline, but impairment has not been ruled out as a possibility, police indicated. Toxicology samples were collected from both of the drivers, and the samples were sent to the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab to be analyzed. Following a car accident, results from a toxicology test can sometimes take weeks to come back from a lab. These results may prove to be critical, as they may provide cause for filing criminal charges against a driver who was evidently impaired by intoxicants at the time of the crash. Moreover, results from a toxicology test may incite people damaged by the accident to file civil action against the demonstrably impaired driver, such as a wrongful death lawsuit.
Even when drivers are criminally charged for their role in a car crash like the one in Livingston Parish on Nov. 29, they may still be held accountable for their actions in civil court. The family of a deceased car accident victim may opt to seek financial compensation from the at-fault driver by filing a wrongful death lawsuit. The families of fatal accident victims may retain an attorney to gather all of the relevant evidence establishing the at-fault driver’s liability.
Source: NOLA, “Independence man dies in head on collision in Livingston Parish“, Quincy Hodges, November 29, 2014
