Few things are more tragic than the loss of a child. Parents and extended family members invest so much time, attention, care and love into raising a child, and to lose a loved one before his or her adult life even begins is a terrible wound. Two South Carolina families are currently going through the early stages of such a loss. As with so many cases in which fatal car accidents end lives, this is a tragedy that will forever alter the lives of those left behind.
The crash took place in the early evening of a recent Wednesday in Surfside Beach. Police believe that two vehicles were in the intersection of Highway 17 and Glenn’s Bay Road. The driver of a Ford Focus was attempting to make a left turn across the intersection when the driver of a Chevrolet truck ran a red light. As a result, the pickup truck crashed into the right side of the sedan.
The driver of the truck and a passenger in the sedan both sustained fatal injuries in the crash. In addition, the driver of the sedan and a passenger in the truck were also injured, but they are expected to recover from those injuries. The incident remains under investigation by South Carolina authorities.
Should police determine that the driver of the pickup truck did in fact run a red light and cause the accident, the family of the victim in the sedan will have the right to seek legal recourse. Even in South Carolina car accidents in which the negligent party also loses his or her life, it is possible to pursue the estate of the deceased in a wrongful death lawsuit. The outcome of such an action will never bring back a lost loved one. However, a successful lawsuit can make strides in compensating the family for the loss that they sustained in the crash.
Source: myhorrynews.com, “Two Horry County teens killed in Surfside Beach accident“, Feb. 26, 2015