Elderly New York woman a fatal car accident victim

A woman is dead following a serious car accident in the Bronx, according to local sources. New York police responded to the car accident that claimed the life of an 89-year-old woman. So far, no charges have been filed against the driver involved in the crash. 

According to the accident report, the woman was a passenger in a vehicle whose driver tried to make a U-turn at an intersection on Oct. 13. The car struck the center median, then moved on to crash into a pole. While the driver was unharmed in this incident, the passenger suffered severe head trauma and was transported to a local hospital, where she died about two weeks later. 

New York police have found no evidence of impaired driving at the time of this report. However, the accident investigation is ongoing. Whether the driver will face criminal charges at a later date remains to be seen. 

Even if police do not choose to file charges against the driver in this car accident, the surviving family members of the deceased woman still have legal recourse available to them. In a wrongful death lawsuit under these circumstances, it will be necessary to establish liability by appropriate proof of driver negligence that meets the burden of proof in civil cases, which is characterized as a preponderance of the evidence.  Once that has been established, the court will proceed to consider specific claims of financial damages, which must also be supported by evidence that meets the same burden of proof.

Source: New York Daily News, “Bronx woman, 89, dies 2 weeks after being injured in car crash“, Keldy Ortiz, Thomas Tracy, Oct. 31, 2015