If you ever strike any foreign object while driving, it is a good idea to pull over as soon as possible and investigate the situation. Not only is it important to detect any damage done to your vehicle, but it is also in your best interests to determine the nature of the object you hit and if there is any additional action required on your part. You may find that what you struck was not what you expected.
A Kentucky woman finds herself in court for just such a situation, wherein she struck a foreign object and simply kept on driving. According to reports, she claimed that she believed the object she struck was a deer, so she simply continued on her way. However, she is instead facing charges of murder, as well as other hit-and-run charges, for allegedly striking a person on a moped. The moped rider was reportedly dragged along by the woman's car and later pronounced dead.
Fatal motor vehicle accidents are always a tragic business, but incidents like this are in some ways even more tragic because of the feeling that it could have been different. While there is no guarantee, one cannot help but wonder if the victim's life could have been saved if only the driver had stopped sooner and had called for help or emergency medical assistance.
Of course, it is uncertain whether or not the accused woman was truly the driver responsible for the victim's death, but that uncertainty serves as a perfect illustration of why legal assistance is so crucial in the case of fatal accidents. The victim's loved ones naturally want justice for the negligent person responsible for the fatality. In such cases an attorney can help ensure not only that such justice is found, but that it is visited upon the person who is truly responsible.
Source: WLKY, "Woman charged in connection with fatal hit-and-run due in court," May 31, 2016