Mark Kristofferson, a 49 year old man, was killed in a Palm Springs bicycle accident. According to the Desert Sun, Ronnie Huerta, Jr., from Desert Hot Springs, California, struck Kristofferson and another bicyclist, Alyson Lee Akers, from Huntington Beach, California, during the Tour de Palm Springs bicycling event.
Mr. Kristofferson tragically passed away as a result of this Palm Springs wrongful death accident and Ms. Akers suffered severe injuries and had to be airlifted to Desert Regional Medical Center. We wish a speedy recovery to Ms. Akers.Â
Mr. Huerta, who witnesses said was traveling over 100 miles per hour, in a 50 miles per hour area, has been arrested and is facing criminal charges for vehicular manslaughter. It has not yet been revealed if Mr. Huerta was under the influence or just driving recklessly at the time of the Palm Springs accident.
Mr. Kristofferson’s heirs will be entitled to make a California wrongful death claim and should hire a wrongful death lawyer right away. We have to hope that Huerta has auto insurance to cover the extensive wrongful death damages. A wrongful death may also be claimed against the organizers of the event, if it can be shown that there was some negligence on their part. There has been at least one other death in the history of the event, so it will have to be examined if the organizers took adequate safety measures for the bicycle riders who were participating.
Sometimes there is also a roadway design problem that leads to a fatal bicycle accident such as this. This is also something that a wrongful death lawyer will need to look into, to see if there is any additional source of monetary recovery for the wrongful death and for the serious injuries suffered by Ms. Akers.