1 dead, 1 injured in Pennsylvania car accident

Police have reported that a two-vehicle crash resulted in the death of one man and seriously injured a second in Franklin County. Pennsylvania authorities responded to the car accident around 2:46 p.m. on the afternoon of Dec. 14. The State Police say their investigation is still underway as of this report, but it appears the deceased driver may have been responsible for precipitating the accident. 

According to the preliminary report, it appears that a 44-year-old man traveling eastbound attempted to pass several vehicles at once, causing him to strike a westbound pickup truck. The pickup truck driver, a 37-year-old man, attempted to avoid the collision. Unfortunately, the two vehicles collided head-on. 

The man believed responsible for the crash was extricated from his vehicle by emergency workers, but he was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. The westbound driver also needed to be extricated from his vehicle and was rushed to a local hospital for treatment. His injuries have been described as major, and there is no word on whether he is expected to survive. 

Obviously, in these types of cases, criminal charges are not filed because the person considered at fault died in the car accident. However, Pennsylvania law allows some legal recourse for the injured man should he survive his injuries. He is entitled to file a personal injury lawsuit against the deceased man’s estate and anyone with ownership interest in the decedent’s vehicle. A representative for the estate would stand in for the deceased man in a civil court setting, which oversees cases of this type. Should the seriously injured victim pass away, his surviving family members would be entitled to pursue a wrongful death claim against the same parties.

Source: fox43.com, “Franklin County man killed in crash“, Howard Sheppard, Dec. 14, 2015