Most people in California likely assume that car accidents are just that: accidents. Those who cause them typically have no intention to do so. Yet their lack of intent does not change the outcome of a collision (which is often catastrophic and leaves many dealing with enormous financial and emotional losses).
It is those losses that often prompt legal action. Many car accident victims find themselves in need of additional financial assistance to cover their accident expenses. Plus, when blatant negligence or recklessness leads to an accident, a lawsuit may assign a degree of accountability for one’s actions.
Woman killed in West Hills street racing collision
Multiple parties may indeed face accountability following a fatal car accident in West Hills. According to The Sacramento Bee, witnesses claimed that as many as three vehicles reached speeds estimated at close to 100 m.p.h. in an apparent street race on West Vanowen Street. One subsequently lost control and slammed into a vehicle stopped at a nearby intersection. So great was the vehicles’ estimated speed that witnesses say the one involved in the accident sent the other into the air upon colliding with it. The driver of that vehicle died in the accident.
Civil and criminal complaints argued concurrently
Many might assume that criminal charges might arise from incidents such as this. That assumption may also include the thought that any civil action must wait until criminal proceedings conclude. Yet that is not the case; the law allows for both actions simultaneously. Thus, accident victims needing compensation should not allow the potential of a current criminal case to deter them from seeking the assistance they need.