A Texas teenager has been taken into police custody after he allegedly struck a man on the side of the road with a truck he was driving on Feb. 10. The accident happened in Fort Worth on the westbound service road of Northwest Loop 820.
A 51-year-old man from Springtown had been driving a van along the road when it became disabled, and he pulled it over on the 2800 block. He had disembarked from his vehicle and was on the side of the road when the 16-year-old, who apparently had been driving at an excessive rate of speed, came along in a pickup truck and allegedly struck him. The driver stopped the vehicle and remained at the scene until the police arrived.
The man was taken to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth for treatment of his injuries, but he passed away at 7:59 p.m. that day. His death has been ruled an accident. The police detained the teenager and charged him with delinquent conduct/criminally negligent homicide for his part in the incident. As the driver was below the age of majority, he has not been publicly identified.
Those who have lost a loved one due to the illegal or irresponsible actions of the driver of a vehicle may file a civil lawsuit against those at fault. A lawyer may be able to help them to formulate a wrongful death suit that expresses precisely what economic harm has been done to the family by the loss of their kin. The civil suit that the family may file is separate and distinct from any criminal charges that may be pressed against someone for their involvement in the accident, and the decision in the civil case does not rest upon the proceedings from the criminal case.
Source: Star-Telegram, “Teen arrested in Fort Worth traffic death,” Domingo Ramirez Jr., Feb. 12, 2015
