When a pedestrian is navigating his or her way through a crosswalk, he or she has the right to reasonably assume that any nearby motorists will take precautions to ensure his or her safety. A recent case in Hawaii resulted in the loss of life when a pedestrian was struck and killed in a crosswalk. The tragedy began with another car accident involving two vehicles. Both car accidents happened within a short time of each other.
An older woman was jogging near Kalanianaole Highway when a vehicle reportedly hit the back end of a parked car. The jogger apparently wanted to avoid the wreckage, so she attempted to use the crosswalk to cross the street. As the woman navigated her way across the road, another vehicle is said to have hit her and knocked her to the ground.
Sadly, while the woman was on the ground, she was run over by a truck. Emergency workers said that she died at the scene of the accident a little while later. Authorities have requested the aid of the public in helping to identify the jogger, who apparently was not carrying any personal identification.
In cases where pedestrians or others are killed in Hawaii car accidents, the law provides for the immediate family members who survive them by allowing them to file a legal claim in a civil court on behalf of their deceased loved ones. Many times, funeral expenses, bills from medical care rendered before the time of death, or other costs related to an accident can cause undue financial stress upon a family that is already grieving. Court-awarded compensation in a successfully litigated case would be able to be used to help cover some of those costs.
Source: staradvertiser.com, “Pedestrian accident closes Kalanianaole Highway”, June 19, 2015