The hectic streets of New York are especially dangerous for young children. The editor of Closer magazine, Annabel Vered, recently suffered a tragic loss in her family as a result of a pedestrian accident. Vered’s 6-year-old daughter was killed as she crossed the street during a Father’s Day barbeque in the Hamptons.
The young girl was crossing the street to meet a friend when a 76-year-old neighbor hit her with his car as he was on his way home from the store. The driver was coming from the south while another car came from the north. The girl waited for the car from the north to pass, but may not have seen the car from the south. The driver who hit her says that he tried to swerve but couldn’t avoid her.
A nurse who was driving by stopped and gave the child CPR, but it was too late. The girl died at the hospital. The child’s family, including her two young siblings, is grief stricken, but everyone is trying to come to terms with what happened.
Unfortunately, pedestrian accidents like these are fairly common. The National Highway Traffic Safety Association reports that, each year, 5,000 pedestrians die in motor vehicle accidents. When a person drives a car, truck, or other motor vehicle, he or she must exercise reasonable care under the circumstances. If a driver fails to do so, he or she may be deemed negligent. Drivers who fail to pay attention to the road, fail to follow speed limits or fail to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks can be considered negligent.
Those who have been injured or who have lost a loved one to a pedestrian accident should act on their legal rights. A New York attorney can help assess the case and whether or not a lawsuit is likely to succeed. If a claim moves forward, a lawyer can be a powerful ally in the fight to recover compensation for a victim’s damages.
Source: New York Post, “Magazine editor’s daughter killed in Hamptons accident,” Kirsten Fleming, Kenneth Garger and Kate Sheehy, June 16, 2014
