A four-vehicle car accident in Sarasota on the afternoon of Saturday, September 12 resulted in the death of a woman from Port Charlotte.
According to the information released by the Florida Highway Patrol, the 41-year-old woman was driving in her SUV heading north on I-75 at approximately 4:30 p.m. that day. The front of the woman’s SUV hit the rear of a van and two SUVs, resulting in her vehicle traveling off the roadway, where it hit several trees and some shrubbery. As she was not wearing her seatbelt at the time, she was ejected from the vehicle.
Emergency responders arrived at the scene and transferred her to Sarasota Memorial Hospital via Bay Flight, but she was pronounced dead of her injuries upon arrival. All drivers and passengers in the other three vehicles were uninjured, but the FHP continued to investigate the crash.
Rear-end collisions usually the responsibility of the rear driver
In the majority of cases, rear-end collisions are the responsibility of the driver in the rear. Drivers must carefully watch vehicles in front of them and keep an appropriate amount of distance behind them so they can safely respond to any braking or changes in direction that occur in front of them.
There are, of course, some exceptions to this. For example, if there is a chain reaction crash, a driver in the middle that is forced into a vehicle in front of them would not bear responsibility for the accident—that liability would fall on the driver who caused the initial collision that caused the chain reaction.
If you or a loved one have been injured in a rear-end collision or any type of accident caused by another person’s negligence, contact an experienced Sarasota, FL personal injury lawyer at Goldman, Babboni, Fernandez & Walsh for legal representation.