Blunt-force injuries resulting from being hit by a pickup truck were given as the cause of death when a 51-year-old man died at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth. The medical examiner for Tarrant County called the death of the Springtown, Texas man an accident.
Prior to the accident, the man’s van had broken down near the 2800 block of Northwest Loop 820 in Fort Worth, Texas. He was pulled over to the shoulder of a service road. According to the police report, it was unclear whether the man was standing outside his van, sitting inside it, or walking away to get help when a pickup truck driven by a 16-year-old man crashed into him. He died less than four hours later at the hospital. The teen did not leave the accident scene and was treated for minor injuries.
Police have not given out the name of the teen driver because he is a juvenile. Speeding is suspected to have played a role in the fatal accident. The teen was arrested and charged with criminally negligent homicide.
When someone is killed in a car accident, the surviving family members sometimes have a reason to make a wrongful death claim against the person at fault for the accident. Wrongful death lawsuits typically seek compensation to cover medical expenses that arose from the accident. Other damages can be funeral expenses and income lost by a household when one of its members dies. A survivor has the option of consulting with an attorney to learn about the types of compensation he or she might have a right to claim through a wrongful death suit.
Source: Star-Telegram, “Teen arrested in Fort Worth traffic death,” Domingo Ramirez Jr., Feb. 12, 2015
