A case that has been dragging on for months has finally come to an end, and a woman who hit and killed a 10-year-old girl has been found guilty.
The accident happened last February in Tierrasanta. The woman left the road and drove up onto a sidewalk. Two girls were walking down that sidewalk, and she ran into both of them. The 10-year-old was rushed to the hospital with a brain injury, and she later passed away.
The woman, who is 31-years old, won’t be sentenced until next month. However, it didn’t even taken an hour for the jury to come back and say that they found her guilty on charges of felony hit and run and gross vehicular manslaughter. She apparently fled from the crash site after running over the girl.
It is worth noting that the woman went to her house, got her father, and came back to the crash scene roughly a half an hour after the incident.
The judge did say she was distracted, but also said fatigue wasn’t an issue and that she had not been texting while driving. That’s significant since she had claimed she fell asleep, accidentally drove onto the sidewalk, and then only left briefly when she panicked.
The other girl, who was 12 years old, lived through the incident, though she had serious injuries.
Parents who have lost children in tragic accidents may be able to seek compensation. This can go beyond merely hoping for a criminal charge or a guilty verdict. When these parents are facing significant costs, such as high medical bills, they need to know their rights to compensation as well.
Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune, “Guilty verdict in Tierrasanta hit-and-run crash that killed girl, 10,” Dana Littlefield, Nov. 23, 2016
