While often fatal car accidents occur in the dark or during bad weather, these are only a couple of the potential reasons they can occur. Earlier this week, a woman driving on Woodhawk Lane in Pittsburgh, died after her vehicle was involved in a collision with a bucket truck. The incident happened a little before 10 a.m.

According to the Pennsylvania state police, the 89-year-old woman who died was behind the wheel of the vehicle that was hit. Just prior to the crash she had reportedly stopped at a stop sign located at the intersection of the road with Route 422. She apparently pulled in front of the truck that hit her. It is not clear what caused her to take this action.

After the initial impact, the woman's vehicle also struck a dump truck. The force of the collision caused the vehicle to flip. It landed on the other side of an embankment on its side.

Sadly, the woman behind the wheel of the car was declared dead at the scene of the accident. The individual behind the wheel of the truck with the bucket sustained injuries described as minor in the incident. Accordingly, the 28-year-old man was taken to a hospital for treatment. The person driving the dump truck was uninjured.

Often fatal motor vehicle accidents lead to wrongful death lawsuits. They are common when the person dies due to the negligence of another. Because it appears that the elderly woman pulled her vehicle in front of the truck, it is not clear if this is a situation in which this would be appropriate.

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Woman, 89, killed in Butler County crash," Liz Navratil, Oct. 2, 2012

• Our firm handles similar situations to the one discussed in this post. For more information on these types of claims, please visit our Butler County fatal motor vehicle accidents page.