Fatal Pedestrian Accident In Hardin

A deadly pedestrian-auto collision occurred when an onrushing car struck and killed a man as he walked across Highway 68.

The wreck took place near the intersection of Aurora and Highway 68. According to witnesses, the victim’s family, and the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, the victim went for an afternoon walk, and as he crossed the highway, he stepped into the path of a driver on the road, who was eastbound. The driver says that although he saw the pedestrian, he was unable to stop, and the car struck the victim. Both people were rushed to a local hospital, where the pedestrian was subsequently pronounced dead.

The victim may have been wearing headphones at or near the time of the pedestrian-auto collision.

Pedestrian Accidents

This incident fits the profile of many pedestrian-auto collisions, because it occurred outside the crosswalk and may have involved contributory negligence, as point that is discussed below.

In 2016, pedestrian fatalities rose 10.4 percent to their highest level in twenty years. Most of these victims are either younger children or older adults, because these individuals are harder for drivers to see (especially if they aren’t really watching the road anyway), and these victims also cannot move quickly enough to avoid oncoming cars. Pedestrian-auto collisions outside crosswalks are typically fatal, because the pedestrian death rate is 75 percent if the tortfeasor (negligent driver) was travelling at more than 45mph. Victims who survive the initial impact are nearly always seriously injured, and some common wounds include:

• Broken Bones: There are typically two impacts in pedestrian-auto collisions, one when the car hits the victim and the other when the victim hits the pavement. Each of these high-speed impacts has the potential to shatter bones.
• Internal Bleeding: Doctors and first responders sometimes initially overlook internal injuries, which can continue leaking blood for a long time after treatment begins.
• Head Injuries: Pedestrians have no airbags, helmets, or seatbelts to protect them from head injuries and other such wounds.

Damages in pedestrian-auto collisions normally include compensation for both economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, including emotional distress.

Possible Defenses

Crossing outside a marked crosswalk and walking while distracted typically do not entirely shift legal fault off the tortfeasor and onto the victim, but they are evidence of contributory negligence, and the judge will reduce damages in proportion to the victim’s fault. Kentucky is a pure comparative fault state, so the judge divides damages based solely on the percentage of fault. So, if the jury divides liability 50-50 between the victim and tortfeasor, the victim receives 50 percent of the damage total. However, if that same result happened in Illinois, the victim would get nothing, because the Prairie State has a 51 percent liability cutoff.

Pedestrian-auto collisions nearly always cause serious injury or wrongful death. For a free consultation with an aggressive personal injury lawyer in Morgantown, contact Attorney Gary S. Logsdon. Our law firm has a small-town atmosphere and access to nationwide resources.