Boston pedestrian crash kills woman

Authorities say that a woman died on July 12 after a pickup hit her in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester. The pedestrian accident occurred shortly after 5 a.m. as the woman walked across the street near the intersection of Washington Street and River Street.

When emergency crews arrived on the scene, they took the woman to Carney Hospital where she was later pronounced dead. The pickup driver stopped but authorities did not say if the driver suffered any injuries in the accident. The collision is still being investigated, and a decision on if charges will be filed against the driver are pending.

Police did not identify the woman, but neighbors said that she was from Kenya and was working two jobs and going to school while she made plans for her son to join her in the United States. Her friends say that she commuted every morning via the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

Pedestrians are at a higher risk of suffering serious and fatal injuries in traffic accidents than the drivers and passengers of the vehicles involved. This is mostly because pedestrians do not have any protection against the weight of the vehicles. Pedestrians who suffer injuries in crashes that are not their fault could be eligible for compensation, as could the surviving family members of pedestrians who are killed.

Compensation awarded to surviving family members of a deceased pedestrian might cover the cost of the funerals and burials. The families could also be compensated for the loss of income, companionship, society and services. In cases where the at-fault parties committed reckless, malicious conduct or gross negligence, the survivors may be awarded a minimum $5,000 in punitive damages.

Source: 188th General Court of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, ‘Wrongful death; damages”

Source: CBS Boston, “32-Year-Old Woman Killed In Dorchester Pedestrian Crash“, July 12, 2014