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Woman fatally struck by two cars while crossing street

On Behalf of | Oct 12, 2018 | Auto-Pedestrian Accidents |

A woman who was walking across a street in the Portland area died after two motorists struck her.

According to reports, the woman was crossing a street in the Southeast part of the city when a car plowed in to her. It was not clear whether or not the woman in a marked crosswalk.

After the first car hit her, a driver and passenger came out and examined the woman. They then left the scene of the accident, and police are looking for them.

Sadly, a second car then passed through and also hit the woman. The second driver remained at the scene of the accident. However, they determined this driver was either drunk or under the influence of drugs and charged him with criminal offenses. Police detained him, but he has since gotten out of jail, presumably after posting bond.

While it may be too early to think much about them, there are going to be some legal issues surrounding this accident. One issue, for instance, is going to be whether the woman had already died at the time the second driver hit her.

The reason is that, while the second driver certainly should not have been driving under the influence, the victim’s family would have to prove his behavior caused the woman’s death. This is one of the elements of a negligence claim like wrongful death.

At any rate, the family of this victim will want to evaluate their legal options and, at least at this point, figure out how to proceed in the event police are not able to track down the other driver. Even without added complications like the one in this tragic story, auto-pedestrian accidents can be difficult affairs to sort through.

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