Georgia Pedestrian Accident Attorneys Discuss Tragic Incident
A motorist killed a 10-year-old girl in Douglas County during in the pre-dawn hours in what appears to be a horrific and tragic accident. The family of the little girl who died has been torn apart, and the driver who killed her is also emotionally scarred. This sad story is a reminder to us all of how precious and fragile life can be and should serve as a warning to drivers and pedestrians alike that care must be exercised at all times while on the roads.
The little girl and her two older siblings stayed at their grandmother's home that fateful night. The children's mother was working the late shift, and their father is a trucker who was out on the road, so they stayed with their grandmother. In the middle of the night, the children snuck out of their grandmother's home and walked down the street to a 24-hour gas station and convenience store to buy some snacks. The two eldest children crossed the heavily traveled Maxham Road first. The youngest followed behind by a few steps. Then, as if appearing out of nowhere, a car driven by a man on his way to work slammed into the ten-year-old as she darted across the road. The massive impact sadly killed the child.
Investigators descended on the scene to determine what happened. Law enforcement officers found surveillance video from the gas station, which shows the eldest two children starting across, and then headlights appearing just before the car strikes the girl.
The driver made a lengthy account of the events to 11Alive, and stated that he began each day as he did every other day. He got up, packed his lunch, put on his shoes, and headed out of the door to work. There was nothing out of the ordinary to that point. The driver turned onto Maxham Road and crested a hill. At that point, he thought he saw two deer in the middle of the road. Then he noticed something run in front of his truck and he struck what he believed was a young deer. The man continued to drive to an area with better lighting and called the police. He stayed where he was. Police officers arrived to investigate and told him he struck and killed a girl. Police released the man that morning. The investigation has revealed that the man was not speeding at the time of the crash and they will not charge him for any alleged wrongdoing.
The stretch of Maxham Road where this tragedy occurred is notoriously dangerous. Locals say that cars drive through the area fast even though there is heavy traffic. CBS46 reported that 27,000 to 29,000 vehicles travel that road every day. The road itself lies on the Cobb County-Douglas County line, and there is a sidewalk on the Cobb County side but none on the Douglas County side. Instead, people walk through the grass and weeds along the side of the road.
Overall, pedestrian deaths have risen in the last year, as have all motor vehicle accidents in Georgia. In 2016, 236 pedestrians were killed on Georgia's roads. Eighty-two percent of those killed were walking at night when they were struck and killed.
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If you or someone you love has been injured in a pedestrian accident, you might be entitled to financial compensation. Our personal injury lawyers in Georgia have been representing those who suffer serious injuries throughout all of Georgia and the Southeast for over 39 years.
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