Fatal car accidents are always a tragic occurrence. These situations become even more tragic when the person killed is not even in his car at all, but he is outside of his vehicle trying to assist victims who had just been in an accident. Regretfully, an off-duty Texas police officer was helping victims on the side of the road who had just been in accidents themselves when he was killed by fatal car accidents when a semi-truck hit him and the disabled vehicles he was attempting to assist.
Earlier that morning, a pickup truck ran into the back of a car carrying a U-Haul trailer, and the vehicles moved to the side of the road. Multiple vehicles, including one carrying two off-duty police officers, stopped to assist the accident victims. The semi-truck did not yield to the hazard lights that most of the vehicles had on, and it struck multiple cars.
Unfortunately, several people were seriously injured. Two people were trapped in their car after it smashed against a railing and had to be removed by hydraulic tools and taken to an area hospital in critical condition. Three more people were severely injured including one of the officers. However, the other officer tragically lost his life in his attempt to help others.
Investigations into the crash will be made, but if the semi-truck driver is found to be at fault for the multi-car accident, he could be facing jail time as well as serious civil litigations. The five people who were seriously injured could be entitled to personal injury suits against the semi-truck driver if he is indeed found to be at fault. The family of the Texas police officer who died in these fatal car accidents could be entitled to a wrongful death suit, which could assist them financially and compensate them for their pain and suffering as a result of their loss.
Source:
policeone.com, “Texas officer killed helping accident victims on roadside,” Sean Batura, July 9, 2013