A jury in Fayette County found a 25-year-old woman criminally responsible for a 2008 car accident in Georges that resulted in the death on another driver. The accident reportedly occurred when the woman attempted to make a left turn from Route 857 onto Big Six Road and ended up pulling out in front of an oncoming car. The driver of the other vehicle was killed instantly in the crash.
The jury deliberated about one hour before finding the woman guilty of homicide by vehicle. She will be sentenced by a judge at a later date. In addition to the criminal aspects of this case, this type of situation can also result in a civil or personal injury case as well. Typically, the civil aspects of a case will come later on after the criminal investigation and prosecution has already been completed.
In this particular case, much of the same evidence used in the criminal trial will also be useful in the civil trial. For example, an accident reconstruction was completed in attempts to show the speed of the vehicles at the time of the crash. In addition, testimony from an eyewitness in the criminal trial will also be valuable for the civil trial.
A few of the big differences between a criminal case like this and a potential personal injury case are the burden of proof and the final objective. In a criminal case, the prosecution needs to prove things beyond a reasonable doubt in order to win a guilty verdict and then punish the offender. On the other hand, a civil trial is all about finding who is legally responsible for the accident and then assessing damages to be collected from the responsible party.
At this time, there is no report of a civil lawsuit being brought by the family of the driver that was killed, but from the information available, it appears this is the type of situation that would often result in a wrongful death lawsuit. The objective of such a lawsuit would be to recover financial compensation for the family of the deceased in an attempt to help them deal with the resulting loss of income and support caused by the accident.
Related Resources:
Uniontown woman convicted in fatal ’08 collision (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)