Hyde Park three-vehicle crash claims Dutchess County woman’s life
- September 5, 2013
A woman from Dutchess County died in a three-vehicle accident that occurred at 10:10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 5. According to police reports, the accident occurred on State Route 9G just a quarter mile north of the intersection with Greentree Drive. She was dead at the scene when police officers arrived. Another man was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, and a third man was not injured following the crash.
While the full story of the car accident is not yet clear to investigators, preliminary reports claim that the deceased woman was traveling southbound while the injured driver was traveling north along the state highway. The northbound driver allegedly crossed into the southbound lane at the time of the accident, striking the woman’s car head-on. The impact caused her car to spin and face east.
The other driver had been traveling behind the deceased woman in a flatbed truck and slammed on the brakes, but couldn’t stop himself from colliding with the driver’s side, effectively pinning her vehicle between his truck and the northbound driver’s car. When it comes to finding fault in complex situations like these, it may be difficult for any party to declare who was fully to blame. While it was the collision with the vehicle driving behind her that may have killed the deceased woman, the collision itself may have been as a result of the northbound driver’s improper vehicle handling.
A personal injury lawyer may be able to help the woman’s family file a lawsuit against the guilty parties, even if no criminal charges are filed in the incident. Investigation into the accident is still ongoing, and it is rare to begin filing a claim until the official accident investigation has been completed. Depending on the contents of the final report when it becomes available, one or more of the other drivers may be found at fault for the accident.
Source: Daily Freeman, “Dutchess County woman dies in three-vehicle crash in Hyde Park“, September 05, 2013