A California family beloved in their community were faced with unthinkable sorrow just a week before Christmas. The father of the family spoke with reporters after his 16-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son were killed in a collision. The teenagers were riding in a vehicle that was struck from behind, and investigators say there is evidence that the other driver was intoxicated at the time.
Both children initially survived their injuries
The 14-year-old boy lived for several hours before succumbing to his injuries. His older sister remained on life support for days but was taken off the machine on Christmas after being pronounced brain dead. The father of the children said that they were both thriving students who never caused a moment of trouble. Fellow students and community members offered similar sentiments about how kind the children were and how greatly they will be missed.
Police arrested the 20-year-old woman who was driving the other car
As is often the case in suspected drunk driving collision, police took the woman who was driving the car that hit the siblings into custody after the crash. She is now facing murder charges. Police say the woman was drunk when her vehicle slammed into the back of the teenagers’ car.
Cases like this often prompt civil litigation
The fact that a woman is facing murder charges in connection with the deaths of the two teenagers could be relevant to any related wrongful death claim filed. Such a claim may be filed by a spouse, a parent or other immediate family member when driver negligence or recklessness has been deemed responsible for a collision-related fatality. Because details of a collision are openly discussed in court, this type of litigation is stressful for surviving loved ones, which one reason why most individuals facing these circumstances ask an experienced personal injury attorney to handle all aspects of the litigation.