3-vehicle crash kills 2, injures 1

Two people died in a multi-vehicle crash in Floyd County, Texas, on August 19. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the crash occurred around 7:45 p.m. after a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado traveling north on State Highway 207 rear-ended a 2011 Chevy Silverado. The rear truck then veered into the highway’s southbound lanes and struck a Jeep Cherokee head-on.

The later-model Chevy ended up in a field to the right of the highway’s northbound lanes. The other pickup stopped in the southbound lanes, and the Jeep was found in a field on the right of those traffic lanes.

The driver of the rear pickup and the driver of the SUV were killed. The driver of the other pickup was taken to University Medical Center and was reportedly in satisfactory condition as of August 20. The circumstances that led to the crash were still under investigation on the day after it occurred. Speeding was the only factor that had been confirmed as a contributing factor by DPS.

In Texas, a wrongful death claim can be filed by a victim’s family after a fatal accident even if that person may have been partially responsible for the incident. Modified comparative negligence is a legal concept, which applies to personal injury litigation centered on car accidents, stipulating that the damages awarded to a civil suit’s plaintiff are reduced by the percentage of responsibility for the crash that lies with that party. For example, if a suit’s plaintiff is found to have been 20 percent at fault for the accident, compensation will be reduced by 20 percent. Some modified comparative fault states allow plaintiffs to have been up to 50 percent responsible for an accident and still receive restitution. Others stipulate that 49 percent is the limit.

Source: My Plain View , “Tuesday crash kills Floydada teen, Post man“, Doug McDonough , August 20, 2014

Source: My Plain View , “Tuesday crash kills Floydada teen, Post man“, Doug McDonough , August 20, 2014