Recent death raises question of liability for freeway pedestrian deaths.
Near the end of last month, 19-year-old spring breaker Eloi Vasquez was struck and killed on the 10 Freeway after telling a friend at a frat party he wanted to go for a walk. After calling another friend to say he was lost, the UC Berkeley student apparently tried to run across the eastbound lanes of the 10 Freeway, and a Chevy Impala traveling about 60 miles per hour was unable to avoid hitting him. Vasquez was pronounced dead at the scene, and family and friends are still wondering about the chain of events that put him on the freeway that night.
This sad accident may have some people wondering about pedestrian accidents on the freeway—just how common are they, and is there every any hope of recovering wrongful death or personal injury damages?
Freeway Pedestrian Accident Statistics
According to LAPD officer Tony Im, it is quite easy for pedestrians to access the portion of the freeway north of the USC campus where Vasquez was killed. More people than you might think do this. According to statistics compiled by the LA Times, roughly 1 in 10 freeway deaths involves a pedestrian, and many of these individuals have no business being on the freeways at all.
Here is the breakdown of types of pedestrians killed on freeways:
- Fewer than 1 percent are construction workers
- 33 percent are stranded motorists
- 40 percent are people who have deliberately walked onto the freeway to take a shortcut or for other unexplained reasons
Factors Affecting Recovery in a Freeway Pedestrian Accident
Just because pedestrians are not supposed to be present on the freeway does not necessarily mean drivers are not liable for pedestrian deaths or injuries. However, certain factors do need to be considered to determine if there is a valid case for compensation.
Hit and Run Accident? Due to the challenges of identifying drivers in hit and run accidents, it is very difficult to bring drivers to criminal justice, much less hold them responsible for their actions in a civil action.
Pedestrian Liability? Assuming the driver did stop to help the victim or has been identified, the next factor that must be considered is whether the pedestrian caused the accident. Individuals who dart up onto the freeway for no reason are almost always liable for their accidents. However, an individual walking along the shoulder of the road after encountering car trouble may have a better chance of building a successful case for compensation, especially if it can be clearly shown that the driver’s own reckless or negligent behavior caused them to swerve off the road and strike the pedestrian.
Uninsured Driver? One final consideration for any personal injury case stemming from a car accident is the driver’s ability to pay any damages you may win. If you are going up against an uninsured driver you may win a judgment but have to wait years for the funds to be garnished from an uninsured driver’s paltry wages.
Questions?
If you have questions about filing a lawsuit based on a pedestrian accident or other type of traffic accident you have been involved in, please contact Fernando D. Vargas for a free initial consultation.
