Slidell Auto Accident Kills 19-Year-Old Woman
Driving Interstate 12 through Slidell, Louisiana, helps motorists avoid the traffic going to New Orleans. However, it doesn’t help avoid an auto accident. A 19-year-old was killed in mid-June while driving on I-12.
The woman and her passenger were traveling on the interstate when traffic backed up around exit 80. The driver slowed the car in response to the traffic, but the Dodge pickup truck traveling behind her did not slow down at all. It slammed into the car from behind, killing the 19-year-old and seriously injuring her passenger.
Authorities determined that the driver of the Dodge pickup had been drinking, although he was not legally drunk. As a result, he was arrested on suspicion of negligent homicide and other charges and was taken to the St. Tammany Parish Jail. All that is known about the condition of the passenger of the car is that his injuries were serious, and he was taken to an area hospital.
Losing anyone in a fatal auto accident is horrible, but there seems to be an added sorrow when the victim is so young. Those who are left behind have to deal with the loss of a friend and loved one in addition to the loss of a life that had just barely begun. The costs of a fatal auto accident, such as funeral expenses and property damage, can be overwhelming at best. The fact that the driver of the Dodge vehicle will be criminally charged means he may not be driving again for quite some time, but a conviction won’t bring back the driver, nor will it provide any compensation for her family’s financial and emotional losses. To gain this compensation, her family will have to file a civil wrongful death lawsuit that effectively demonstrates the pickup truck driver’s negligence caused the young woman’s death.