The Arizona Department of Public Safety has identified the driver and the two victims killed last week in a wrong-way collision on I-17 near Greenway.
Driver and Victims Identified in Wrong-Way Collision
Kelsey Richardson, age 18, was in Arizona visiting her sister, Karli, 20 were killed in a wrong-way collision on their way to see the sunrise at the Grand Canyon. Karli was preparing to graduate from GCU this upcoming spring. Kelsey was an aspiring doctor, enrolled at Western Carolina University.
“Very intelligent girls, with so much to offer the world. God-fearing girls. They were very fun-loving girls. They loved the outdoors. they loved doing things outside,” said their mother Cathy Hocking.
The two were hit head-on by another GCU student, 21-year-old Keaton Allison of Colorado, who somehow had entered the I-17 heading in the wrong direction.
All three were killed.
Impairment has not yet been ruled out.
GCU is planning to hold separate services for the two students. Both are private for students and staff only.
“He was a loving kid that wanted the best for everyone and always wanted people to be happy and having a good time. He was so accepting of everyone and his love for people was contagious,” said Cole Anderson, one of Allison’s friends.
Personal Injury Attorney
A personal injury attorney handles any number of things that are “personal injuries,” including: car and bus accidents, elevator accidents, accidents that occur on city streets, bed bugs, dog bites, and construction accidents and wrongful deaths.
A personal injury can be defined as a physical and/or mental injury that occurs because of someone else’s negligence, intentional actions, or strict liability.
Negligence: when another party fails to act with reasonable care. For example: if you suffer physical injuries as the result of a driver rear ending you because they are not paying attention, the injuries could be deemed a personal injury due to negligence.
Intentional Harm: when another person sets out to hurt you. Examples include: battery, assault, and false imprisonment.
Strict Liability: if you are injured by a product (such as a malfunctioning car), anyone involved in the production, distribution, or sale of the defective product can be held responsible.
Steps in Personal Injury Lawsuit
There are some things that a personal injury attorney will immediately want to do. We outline them below.
Reconstructing an Accident
When an accident occurs, and there are no eye-witnesses, it’s hard to understand exactly what occurred. The accident needs to be reconstructed by investigators in order to get a full understanding. Once that understanding has been given, liability can be assessed. The dynamics, methodology, and principles involved in reconstructing a pedestrian accident are slightly different than those used to reconstruct car accidents. A investigator looks at car speed as well as pedestrian speed (which can be very difficult to determine), perception and reaction time, as well as highway design and sign placement. The pedestrian’s impact kinematics (which is how the pedestrian moved at or through the impact phase of the collision) are reconstructed. Once all these factors have been identified, a lawyer can build a negligence or wrongful death case based on the investigator’s findings.
Determining Negligence During an Accident
In the case of pedestrian and car accidents, negligence can be assigned to both sides of the accident: to the driver, or to the pedestrian. Drivers are considered negligent if they neglect to do the following:
- Pay attention to surroundings
- Adhere to posted speed limits
- Yield at stop lights and cross-walks
- Properly use turn signals
- Adhere to Arizona state traffic laws
A pedestrian can be considered negligent if they do the following:
- Run-out in front of cars
- Illegally jaywalk
- Fail to use designated cross-walks
- Ignore pedestrian signals at traffic lights
- Fail to pay attention to surroundings and traffic situations
Working with a Personal Injury Attorney After an Accident
If you have been a victim in a car, truck, pedestrian, or bicycle accident, you should immediately contact a personal injury attorney that understands the specific laws around these types of accidents. They will be able to perform a full investigation and build your case. It’s crucial that you work with someone that knows the intricacies of the laws surrounding these types of cases as well as your specific state’s laws. The attorneys at Personal Injury Attorneys PLLC have experience handling personal injury cases such as car accidents, pedestrian accidents, and bicycle accidents. They will help build a case to ensure you receive everything you need to recover from your specific accident.
