Earlier this week, we posted “Will The Driver That Killed My Husband Ever Be Held Accountable?” written by our client, Deborah Reichle, who lost her husband, David Reichle, in a horrific car versus pedestrian accident on a Torrance street right outside their friends’ home in Torrance, Thanksgiving morning 2008. David suffered severe brain injury and died five days after the jeep driven by Sara Sherbin struck him. But even as she is dealing with pain, grief and financial instability in the wake of her husband’s death, Deborah is also dealing with shoddy car accident investigationby the Torrance Police Department, which may help Sherbin walk away from this entire episode as if nothing happened. And that is just plain wrong!
Here’s what happened. Sherbin drove down a very wide and quiet residential street. She claimed later that she didn’t see David getting out of his car and turning to talk to a friend on the sidewalk. Sherbin plowed through David and didn’t even stop after she hit him. Instead, she over-corrected and shot across the street before she came to a stop two houses away. Deborah believes Sherbin was driving recklessly that day and had counted on the Torrance Police Department to perform an unbiased investigation and come out with the truth.
But Deborah Reichle has been sorely disappointed. The investigating officer’s report was missing key witness statements thereby diminishing Sherbin’s liability. In fact, the report even suggests that David may have been at fault for exiting his van although he was fully out of the van and in plain view of Sherbin as she drove down the street. All Sherbin got was a minor traffic citation. She has not been charged and no charges are pending.
Continue reading →