Police Say Teen Driver At Fault In Ventura Pedestrian Accident

In August, we reported on the death of a Casitas Springs woman in a pedestrian accident in Ventura. Police have now confirmed that the teen motorist who was driving the car that struck and killed Susan Herman, was at fault in the accident.

On August 24th, Herman and her dog were crossing the street when they were struck by a car driven by a 16-year-old motorist. Herman was rushed to a hospital, but succumbed to her injuries. At the time, it was not clear who had the right of way. The unidentified teen motorist stopped after the accident, and told police that he didn't see Herman or the dog crossing the street.

Since then, investigators have been able to determine that Herman had the right of way at the time of the crash. She is believed to have been on the crosswalk when she was struck by the car. They have also determined that the motorist failed to see the pedestrian, because of inattention.

California pedestrian accident lawyers see this all the time. Accidents are caused because of a motorist's failure to pay attention to the road, especially while nearing a crosswalk, or an intersection. Distractions can come from a number of sources. Motorists may be fiddling with radio stations, or snacking. They may be distracted by billboards. Distractions may also come in the form of cell phones. There is no information on whether cell phone use was a factor in this accident, but nationwide there has been strong concern about drivers distracted while text messaging or talking on their cell phones, and how this increases the risk of an accident.

In July, we discussed a study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, which showed a strong correlation between a driver's text messaging at the wheel, and the risk of an accident. Motorists who were texting while driving, had a tendency to take their eyes off the road, that was 4.6 times higher than motorists who were not texting. This, the study found, increased the risk of an accident by more than 23 times. The results of the study have generated louder calls for a ban on text messaging while driving. The Governor's Highway Safety Association has called for a nationwide ban on texting while driving. US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will be convening a summit at the end of this month to discuss how best to deal with the dangers of texting while driving.

Besides driver distraction and inattention, there may be other reasons that could be responsible for a pedestrian accident. These include:

Speeding - A motorist driving at high speeds may be unable to stop in time to see a pedestrian on a crosswalk.
Drunk driving
Careless driving in poor weather conditions
Failure to yield right of way
Motorists must do their part to prevent accidents

Drive at safe speeds
Look out for pedestrians when you near a crosswalk or an intersection.
Drive especially carefully at night, and during rough weather conditions.
Watch out for pedestrians in pedestrian-heavy areas like college campuses, schools etc.