Woman Killed in Multi-Car Collision on the Turnpike
On Monday, November 14, 2022, sometime around 6:00 p.m., a woman was killed in a crash on the Florida Turnpike. The fatal crash happened near Mile Marker 258, just south of Interstate 4. According to the troopers, three different vehicles crashed into the woman. As a result, she was pronounced dead on the scene.
Ever since I started writing these blurbs about serious accidents in Orlando, I have been astounded by how many times I find myself writing about a fatal accident. In an instant, things can go bad and change a person's life forever. That's a good reason to stay alert as possible and be ready to deal with a careless driver.
What Are the Legal Implications When Multiple Vehicles Are Involved in a Crash?
It’s bad enough to get hit by one vehicle. However, what happens when multiple vehicles crash into the same person? How do you determine who is liable?
There is no hypothetical better than real life. In the situation here, the victim died as a result of the crash. Therefore, she cannot get up on the stand and tell her side of the story and how the accident happened. As a result, the drivers that crashed into her would have to rely on their word versus the other drivers’ word. That is, unless there was a nearby camera or person with a cell phone or some recording of the incident. However, on the Turnpike, that’s certainly not guaranteed.
Another complication in this matter is that three different vehicles crashed into the woman. Who is liable for her death? The answer is not all that straightforward and would require intense investigation.
Florida is a pure comparative negligence state. This means that in a multi-car collision or vehicle pile-up, the jury will be tasked with assigning fault. In other words, the jury will look at the evidence and assign fault to the drivers involved in the crash. Therefore, in the situation above, Drivers 1, 2, and 3 that crashed into the woman’s vehicle would be assigned various percentages of fault from 0% to 100%, depending on their actions or inactions.
