Man pleads guilty in fatal New York car accident

A tragic accident in December 2015 left a 5-year-old boy dead. The man police charged with being responsible for the fatal car accident is from New York, and he recently pleaded guilty in court for his role in the crash. The plea was issued on Sept. 29, and sentencing will begin on Jan. 19. Until that time, the man is being held in custody. 

According to the original accident report, the man was drunk when he crashed his vehicle into a guard rail on a highway in another state. The force of the impact propelled his vehicle into another car, and the 5-year-old was a passenger in that vehicle. The boy was declared dead as a result of his injuries. 

Police charged the man with second-offense DUI and aggravated involuntary manslaughter. No sentence has yet been handed down, but it seems likely jail time will be included in the sentence. It is unclear whether any of the other occupants of the vehicle involved in the crash were injured, but those individuals, if they exist, will have their own legal recourse to pursue. 

Whether they be in New York or another state, parties injured in a car accident are entitled to file personal injury lawsuits against the driver or drivers who contributed materially to the crash. Similarly, the family of the deceased child is entitled to file a wrongful death suit in civil court. While criminal charges and/or convictions are not required for such suits to be filed, the fact that police have charged the man with DUI will only help bolster the claims made by the family and/or the injured parties should they choose to file civil suits. 

Source: NBC29, “New York Man Pleads Guilty to Fatal Augusta Co. Accident“, Sept. 30, 2016