1 woman dead following Pennsylvania car accident

Recently, a serious car crash sent one man to the hospital and a woman to the morgue. Pennsylvania authorities were called to the state line around 8 p.m. on Jan. 11 to respond to a two-car accident that caused the death of a local woman. The coroner’s office is apparently treating the accident site as a crime scene, though no charges have formally been filed.

Police reports indicate that a man traveling north on State Road in Lawrence County allegedly ran a stop sign and struck another car that reportedly had out-of-state plates. The force of the impact pushed the car off the road and into a nearby house, causing damage to a utility pole. The male driver who purportedly ran the stop sign was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

The male driver of the second car was rushed to a local hospital with serious injuries, while his unidentified female passenger was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Police have not indicated whether reckless driving, negligence and/or intoxication were factors in this accident. However, criminal behavior is suspected, and the investigation was reportedly ongoing.

There will need to be a full investigation into the specifics of this car accident before Pennsylvania prosecutors can determine whether the male driver of the first car was criminally liable for the crash. Evidence used in a criminal proceeding may be useful as proof of negligence in a related civil lawsuit for wrongful death. Such a suit is considered civil rather than criminal and would be dependent on proof that the fatal accident was caused by the negligence of the man who, according to police, ran a stop sign immediately prior to the crash.

This blog entry was posted on behalf of [nap_names id=”FIRM-NAME-1″], and does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the firm or its attorneys. The information presented in this blog is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be legal advice.

Source: wfmj.com, Woman dies in two-car crash at the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line, No author, Jan. 11, 2014