Most Kentucky drivers have probably found themselves stuck in a traffic slowdown resulting from a motor vehicle accident. Most often, such a situation is frustrating and inconvenient, but eventually, drivers are able to pick up speed and carry on their way. However, sometimes, these sorts of traffic jams lead to additional car accidents or truck accidents, causing even more damage, injuries and sometimes fatalities.
Unfortunately, such a situation occurred recently when a crash in Scott County left a 48-year-old woman and an 11-year-old boy dead. Reportedly, the victims resided in a different state, and the child was the woman’s nephew. According to the Scott County Sheriff’s Department, the tragic incident followed an earlier accident on the same road that had forced traffic to slow or stop. A box truck driven by a 29-year-old Lexington man and traveling at a high rate of speed struck the victims’ vehicle.
Reportedly, the truck driver had been driving with a suspended licence, and investigators suspect he was impaired as well as distracted by his cell phone at the time of the incident. Apparently, the driver has admitted to having used controlled substances before driving the truck that caused the fatal crash. Authorities have said he has since been charged with two counts of second-degree manslaughter, and they expect he will face additional criminal charges.
No doubt, most Kentucky residents find it difficult to understand truck accidents like this one as they struggle to comprehend why a driver with a poor driving record and a suspended license would get behind the wheel of any vehicle while impaired and then also use a cell phone while operating that vehicle. Sadly, that appears to have been what happened in this case. Two victims have lost their lives simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong moment, leaving their families to grieve their loss. Often, people who have suffered the loss of a loved one in these types of circumstances choose to explore their options with an experienced personal injury attorney. After examining case details, he or she may advise pursuing the matter within the civil justice system.