When law enforcement officials here in Louisiana investigate an accident, they gather the information they need to complete their reports from numerous sources. When one of those sources is not available, it can cause the investigation to take longer. For example, in a fatal accident in which the driver believed to be responsible dies, it could take longer to determine one or more factors that led to the crash since the driver is not available to provide an explanation.
The survivors might fill in some of the gaps, but depending on their injuries, it could be some time before obtaining a statement is possible. The Louisiana State Police are still attempting to ascertain what caused a driver in a recent head-on collision to veer into the oncoming lane of travel. The crash occurred on Louisiana Highway 20.
A westbound pickup truck driven by an 84-year-old man veered into the path of an eastbound vehicle. When the two vehicles collided, the westbound driver and the 55-year-old driver of the eastbound vehicle both suffered fatal injuries. A passenger in the eastbound vehicle survived with what were described as moderate injuries. Therefore, investigators might not be able to obtain much information about the cause of the accident from the survivor.
The family of the eastbound driver and the injured passenger retain the right to file civil actions against the estate of the other driver. If they prevail in establishing that his actions were negligent and led to this fatal accident, they could be awarded damages. Any restitution received could help relieve the financial burdens incurred by the parties involved.
Source: katc.com, “Both drivers die in St. James 2-vehicle accident”, March 5, 2016