The recession has been hard for many Americans, and it has been particularly hard on a mother of four from Cincinnati. The Ohio mother has had to take a job at just above minimum wage just to try to make ends meet for her boys. However, as she was walking her three youngest sons to a babysitter’s house before work, her situation became substantially more tragic when a fatal car accident took the life of her 3-year-old son.
The accident occurred in Oct. 2012. As the family was walking, a car came seemingly out of nowhere and jumped over the curb. When the police arrived on the scene, the driver admitted to drinking before getting in the car that morning, and she recorded a .133 blood alcohol count after a Breathalyzer test. She was arrested and charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular assault and aggravated vehicular assault.
Now, the driver is trying to get the breath test excluded as evidence in her criminal proceedings. She has tried to defend herself by saying that she is not an American native and does not speak English well, but records show that she is apparently an interpreter for others. She also claims that she only hit the family because she was trying to avoid an accident, but so far, the evidence has not supported this claim.
Regardless of how the situation plays out in criminal court, the Ohio mother is still eligible to file a civil suit for wrongful death against the driver. A fatal car accident, particularly when the life of a child so young is taken, is always a tragedy. While a successful civil suit will not bring his life back, it can help the mother by making a provision for a financial award of monetary damages sustained as a result of the tragic fatal crash.
Source: cincinnati.com, “Drico’s death still haunts mother“, Jennifer Edwards Baker, May 25, 2014