On April 13th of 2013, five young friends were driving eastbound on Blue Heron Boulevard when their car was hit. All five young men and women died, but the driver of the other car escaped serious injury. Now that reckless driver from Palm Beach County is facing up to 75 years in prison.
The driver claims that while he was driving back to his workplace to feed two dogs, he became ill and fell unconscious, but the prosecution was not convinced. They believe that the driver was speeding at around 128 mph when he took the I-95 off ramp. They believe that after exiting, the driver ran a stoplight, slammed his brakes, and then crashed into the victims’ vehicle.
The jury apparently agreed with the prosecution’s scenario, and found the driver guilty of five counts of vehicular homicide. The driver now sits in jail awaiting his sentencing.
Could This Accident Have Been Prevented?
Before the accident, the driver had received a ticket for going 91 mph in a 65 mph zone, and the police officer had suspected the driver was smoking marijuana. The judge chose not to include this evidence in the trial, but it seems the prosecution’s case was strong enough without it.
Was this a sign that this young reckless driver was taking too many chances on the road? We may never know, but we can still be on the lookout for distracted and negligent drivers. Watch out for drivers with multiple passengers, drivers that are swerving or braking erratically, and drivers who are holding their cell phones while driving. Visit our auto accidents page to learn more about staying safe on the road, and contact us if you or a loved one are injured in a car crash.
Colson Hicks Eidson — Personal Injury Attorneys