Dwaine Williams, 73, and Daphine Myers, 79, both of Wauchula, Florida were sadly killed in an early morning car accident in Bartow, Florida this past Saturday.
According to news reports, the accident happened when Dwaine’s Cadillac was struck by another vehicle when he turned west onto Ernest M. Smith Boulevard from U.S. 17.
The other vehicle was a passenger van driven by Jose Acosta, 47, of Winter Haven, Florida. Acosta was transported to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. Another gentleman, Earl Williams, who may have been a passenger in Dwaine’s Cadillac, was also transported with non-life threatening injuries.
Because eye witnesses claim the Southbound light on U.S. 17 was green, the assumption, at first glance, is that Dwaine Williams may have violated Acosta’s right of way and may be the party responsible for causing the accident.
Today’s discussion will illustrate why that may be a false assumption and how having the green light does not automatically mean you are not at fault.
It is my strong suspicion that the surviving family of Dwaine Williams and Daphine Myers may have a very strong case for wrongful death. Earl Williams may also have a strong claim for his injuries as well. Cases like these can be valued in excess of $1 Million Dollars.
Who caused the crash? Is Acosta at fault even though he had the green light?
As a personal injury attorney, I follow car accident cases on Florida’s roadways on a near daily basis. Aside from having some of the most dangerous roadways in the country, we also have some of the most careless drivers.
Reflecting on my experience as a trial lawyer, I can tell you there are plenty of cases where the responsible party had the green light. When we analyze these cases in the courts, we have to look at the full picture. We cannot simply focus on one single piece of evidence.
One major factor that must ALWAYS be considered in intersection accident cases is SPEED.
Intersection cases happen because one party typically did not yield to the other. This can happen because Florida drivers act with entitlement and do not want to let others pass, it happens because they are distracted with cell phones, deep thoughts, or loud music, and it happens because they are speeding.
Here is a typical example: A driver looks at on-coming traffic before he effectuates a turn onto an intersecting roadway and sees a vehicle in the distance. The driver determines that the vehicle is far enough away to make a safe turn.
However, that calculation can be very mistaken when the other vehicle is speeding.
As human beings, we judge speed by comparing the location of a moving object to its surroundings. When a vehicle passes across your line of sight, it is easy to judge speed because you can easily see it move from left to right or right to left. As you track its travel, you can tell how fast it is going.
However, this is not the case when we face a speeding vehicle head on. When a car speeds at you head on, your human brain cannot compare its change in position as it travels. Instead, we rely on a totally different skill – that is, the increasing size of the on-coming vehicle as it approaches.
When a driver makes the decision to turn off a roadway onto an intersecting roadway, he/she may do so in a split second.
When an on-coming car is speeding, this causes an accident because the turning driver – due to no fault of his own – miscalculates how long it will take for the on-coming car to reach his position.
In such cases, I place blame squarely on the on-coming car. If the on-coming car was going the speed limit, the accident would have never happened.
Proving Dwaine Williams Was NOT at Fault
Like I said earlier, at first glance it is easy to blame Dwaine Williams for this accident. However, if I was representing his family in this case, I would focus my attention on the speed of the other driver’s vehicle. This is accomplished two ways: First, the on-board computer located inside Acosta’s passenger van needs to be preserved and downloaded. It will have recorded the speed of his vehicle in the moments and seconds leading up to the accident.
Second, an accident recontructionist will need to pour over the traffic crash investigation conducted by police. By looking at forensic evidence obtained from the roadway, such as tread marks from tires, debris from broken glass and metal, as well as other clues, we can extrapolate the speeds of Acosta’s vehicle.
Considering it was a passenger van, an eye witness from inside the van may be able to tell us what the speed was, if he/she was paying attention. Eye witnesses may also have information about the speed of the on-coming van. For instance, Earl Williams may be able to tell us if Acosta’s van was speeding.
Another investigative lead may be had by scouring the scene for surveillance cameras. Lately, cameras tend to pop up in the darnedest places. You would be shocked.
Regardless, the bottom line is this: The investigation should focus on evidence of speeding and not only Dwaine Williams’ turn onto Ernest Smith Blvd.
Building a Strong Case
Remember, this is a courthouse blog. We are accident attorneys and follow these cases to break them down insofar as what happens in court and to discuss how the law views the facts and issues.
In this case, I STRONGLY believe the surviving families of Dwaine Williams and Daphine Myers have a good case and are entitled to very substantial compensation for the death of their loved ones. I also beleive Earl Williams is entitled to compensation for his injuries.
When someone is killed or injured on our roadways, the people who caused the accident should be held accountable.
While it is easy to blame the victim, further investigation is needed to determine if Acosta was speeding. If he was, this whole case will take a different stance.
Evidence needs to be preserved and experts need to do their thing – especially with the data stored in Acosta’s on-board computer.
To build a successful injury case, a lawyer has to prove 1) the responsible party was negligent, and that 2) their negligence caused the injuries (in this case two deaths and other injuries).
Given my experience dealing with intersection accidents, I refuse to automatically assume Dwaine Williams is the responsible party. We need to know more information, particularly if Acosta was speeding.
We have all been there – at the intersection with an on-coming car that is just FLYING at us and who covers the distance in a surprising and unexpected quick amount of time.
Once this information is gathered, injury attorneys representing the families of Dwaine Williams and Daphine Myers (as well as Earl Williams) will have what they need to make a successful claim against the insurance company covering Acosta’s passenger van.
Typically, liability coverage on a commercial passenger van is a minimum of $1 Million Dollars, if not more.
Final Thoughts
Law and courthouse cases aside, there is no doubt that a family is suffering right now. I just can’t help but wonder if this accident could have been prevented if someone else was not speeding. I guess we will see. My condolences go out to the family.
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