Distracted teen driver blamed in Massachusetts fatal car accident

A distracted teenage driver apparently caused the death of a 56-year-old man in the Massachusetts town of Mendon recently. Authorities say the fatal car accident occurred shortly after 12:15 p.m. on a Wednesday in mid-June. The victim had been towing a boat and stopped at a local marine store. Thereafter, the man was apparently inspecting the boat with the owner of the store when tragedy struck.

An 18-year-old girl then hit the victim with her car. Reportedly, she was distracted at the time of the crash. She apparently admitted to authorities that she was in the midst of adjusting her Global Positioning System just prior to the collision.

A passerby that was walking to work saw the crash and went to help the man. As he did so, paramedics stopped to assist. An ambulance soon transported the man to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The teenage driver stopped after the deadly collision and was described as appearing to be in shock. The official investigation is ongoing, though police did issue a warning to motorists that only voice activated GPS systems should be used while operating a vehicle on Massachusetts roadways.

Tragically, nothing can change the end result of this fatal car accident. It is as yet unclear whether Massachusetts authorities will seek to charge the driver criminally. Nevertheless, the deceased victim’s family has the legal right to pursue a wrongful death claim against the driver as well as the owner of the car she was driving. Such a claim will not undo what has already occurred, but a successfully litigated claim could provide the man’s surviving family with financial restitution for monetary damages sustained.

Source: necn.com, “Pedestrian hit and killed in Mendon, Mass.,” Jennifer Eagan, June 12, 2013