The New York Police department is investigating an incident in Marine Park, Brooklyn where a driver who was getting away from police crashed into a Nissan sedan and injured two women – the driver and one of the passengers of the sedan. The Nissan sedan had three women at the time of the accident. The two women injured in the accident were rushed to the Kings County Hospital and were said to have sustained unknown injury. However, one of the women in the sedan may have sustained serious injuries as she was pinned inside the car. This accident happened at the junction of Avenue U and Stuart Street.
According to the preliminary reports received by the media houses, the driver of the van was stopped by a police officer but attempted to escape and in the process ran over the foot of one of the police officers. Police pursued the driver in what turned out to be a few minutes of the car chase. The incident happened at about 3 pm on 18th November 2014.
Expected Case for the Car Accident Lawyer in Brooklyn Representing the Driver
The driver of the escape van that caused the accident has been apprehended and faces a myriad of possible charges. He is expected to be charged with both negligences that caused the accident and the consequent injuries and unlawfully fleeing a police officer. He will also be charged with the injury to the police officer that he caused as he fled. The car accident lawyer in Brooklyn to represent this driver will have a tough time avoiding a long jail sentence for his client and possible compensation suits for the personal injuries involved. A lot will depend on how serious the injury to the two women will turn out to be.
Similar Incident in 2008
This incident is similar to the 2008 incident in Suffolk County New York in which a driver, John Licausi, killed a father of 3 as he fled away from the police. In this incident, Licaus was stopped by the police officer on Riverleigh Avenue and questioned about stolen lawn equipment. In a split second, Licaus sped off leaving the officers behind. A chase ensued along the Riverleigh Avenue and Licaus ran a red light and crashed into a car driven by Scott Foster, 46, killing Scott on the spot. Licausi was also found to have been high on cocaine. He was charged with man slaughter, driving under the influence of cocaine, unlawfully fleeing a police officer among 7 other charges. He was convicted by a Suffolk County jury of all the charges in June 2010 and was sentenced to 25 years to life by Suffolk County Court.
However, the attorney representing Licausi appealed the case and though the New York appellate court held the conviction in the lower court, Licausi’s sentence was reduced as the appellate court found the sentence excessive.
Approach for Such Cases
In cases where a driver causes an injury or death after an accident that follows fleeing from a police officer, the car accident lawyer in Brooklyn will need to defend the driver will probably defend the driver from both criminal charges and personal injury cases.