Two People Dead Following West Houston Vehicle Collision

Few details were available about a car crash that killed two adults and sent two children to a hospital with serious injuries.

Authorities believe speeding played a role in the crash between a black Toyota sedan and a gray Scion SUV in the 6300 block of Richmond Avenue near Greenridge Drive.

The black car was occupied by a driver with no passengers, while the gray SUV had two adults in the front seat and two children in the backseat, police said. When officials arrived at the scene, both adults in the SUV were dead. Police believe the woman is the mother of the two children in the backseat, and the man is a relative. The two children, identified as a 5-year-old and a 10-year-old, sustained serious injuries.

Speed and Vehicle Collisions

When investigators can’t immediately determine the cause of a car crash, speed is usually a good guess. Excessive velocity is a factor in over a third of the fatal car crashes in Texas. Speed increases the risk of a crash and the force in a collision.

Speed multiplies stopping distance. That’s the ground a vehicle covers in the few moments it takes for drivers to see hazards, take their feet off the accelerators, apply the brakes, and safely stop their vehicles. Advanced brakes have cut braking time, but they haven’t affected reaction time.

At 30mph, stopping distance is about six car lengths, At 60mph, stopping distance multiplies to eighteen car lengths. Environmental factors, like wet roads, vehicle factors, like vehicle weight, and driver factors, like marginal alcohol impairment, significantly increase stopping distance.

The same principle applies to the force in a collision, according to Newton’s Second Law of Motion. At 30mph, a vehicle collision is basically a parking lot fender-bender. At 60mph, a vehicle collision becomes a serious injury or fatal accident.

Actually, the A-word is not accurate in most of these cases. People accidentally leave the water running. They don’t accidentally travel at a dangerous speed.

Instead, speeding is usually negligence, or a lack of care. In these cases, a Sugar Land personal injury lawyer can obtain substantial compensation for victims. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.

Evidence in Car Wreck Claims

Investigators can make educated guesses when it comes to car crash causes. But a Missouri City personal injury lawyer must prove negligence by a preponderance of the evidence, or more likely than not.

Evidence in a car crash claim usually includes the police accident report, witness statements, and medical bills. Frequently, this evidence is enough to prove liability, but it’s not enough to obtain maximum compensation.

Bare-bones evidence usually isn’t strong enough to overcome common insurance company defenses, like comparative fault. If both drivers were partially responsible for a wreck, the court will reduce, or even eliminate, the victim’s compensation.

So, to strengthen a claim, attorneys must often supplement preliminary evidence. Medical bills are a good example.

Hospital and other bills detail basic cost, diagnosis, and treatment matters. But they don’t cover issues like the victim’s pain level, which is relevant to the amount of pain and suffering damages. So, attorneys often secure testimony from friends and family members.

These individuals usually can’t testify about the wreck or the medical treatment. But they can tell jurors how the wreck affects their friend or loved one on an everyday basis. Small details like this make a huge difference in the outcome of a case.

Reach Out to a Dedicated Harris County Attorney

Injury victims are entitled to significant compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney in Missouri City, contact the Henrietta Ezeoke Law Firm. Attorneys can connect victims with doctors, even if they have no insurance or money.

Source:

abc13.com/fatal-crash-richmond-ave-west-houston-mother-killed-2-dead-1-hospitalized-children-minor-injuries/14442832/