California Injury Blog
A 75-year-old man was injured in a Ventura car accident involving a driver who fled the scene of the collision. According to a news article in The Ventura County Star, the hit-and-run accident occurred at Kimball Road and Thille Street, the afternoon of July 3, 2012. Officials say the man and his wife were stopped at a red light when their vehicle was rear-ended. The 75-year-old victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The hit-and-run driver, 26-year-old Aaron Budzinski, was tracked down and arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run.
My thoughts and prayers are with the man injured in this Ventura hit-and-run car accident. I wish him the very best for a complete and speedy recovery.
Ventura Accident Statistics
According to California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), four people were killed and 416 were injured in Ventura car accidents in 2009. Countywide, 57 fatalities and 3,421 injuries occurred due to car crashes, during that same year.
Hit-and-Run Accidents
Based on this news report, the speeding 26-year-old driver rear-ended a car and left a 75-year-old man injured without contacting the authorities or remaining at the scene to help the elderly victim. Appalling! Drivers are not just morally obligated to remain at the scene of a crash where someone has suffered an injury but also legally required. California Vehicle Code Section 20001 (a) states: “The driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to a person, other than himself or herself, or in the death of a person shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident.”
Liability Issues
Victims of hit-and-run accidents would be well advised to speak with an experienced Ventura personal injury lawyer, who will stay abreast of the official investigation and make sure that their legal rights and best interests are protected. Compensation may be available for the victim’s medical expenses, hospital bills, costs of rehabilitation fees, pain and suffering and other related damages. A skilled car accident attorney will better inform families in such cases about how their own auto insurance policy applies to an incident where the at-fault motorist is uninsured or underinsured.