A pedestrian is hit and injured or killed by a driver who leaves the scene of a crime. It may sound like a rare occurrence, but happens all too often in Newport News.
As a Newport News, VA injury lawyer, I was saddened to read about how a pickup driver left a woman dead after hitting her and then fled the scene over the weekend.
A hit-and-run vehicle crash in Newport News ended in a fatality Sunday night.
WAVY.com reported on how police officers and medics went out to the intersection of Warwick Boulevard and Hilltop Drive in Newport News at around 9 p.m. on June 16, 2013.
The station reported a female pedestrian had been struck by a pickup truck on Warwick Boulevard and left lying on the ground as the truck drove away, police said. Medics pronounced her dead at the scene.
The truck was described in media reports as being white with an extended cab and steel toolbox in its truck bed. It should be easy to spot. The vehicle was reported to have a badly damaged front end from the crash.
Hit and run accidents are more common than we would like to believe on the Virginia Peninsula and southern Hampton Roads. Last year I reported on a driver who admitted hit and run accidents that caused injuries in Newport News and in York County.
Hit and runs are not just criminal offenses. Often the families of those who have tragically lost their lives have grounds to bring a wrongful death lawsuit.
Pedestrians have rights under the laws of Virginia. As well as statutes there is common law in Virginia and many other states, established by cases, that means a pedestrian has a right-of-way at a street corner where a driver has a clear view of the pedestrian.
Sadly too many drivers disregard these laws and a large number of pedestrians have been killed in recent months in Virginia (VA). On Jan. 12, 2012 a pedestrian was killed by a pickup truck on Military Highway in Chesapeake, VA.
If you have been hurt in Newport News, Hampton or any other Virginia city by a hit and run or any other driver, contact an experienced Virginia pedestrian accident injury lawyer.