Early Thursday morning, a 64 year old Hispanic woman was killed when she was hit by a Ford Explorer in a tragic Los Angeles wrongful death hit and run accident. According to KTLA5 News, which has a picture of the Explorer on its website, the driver of the SUV first struck a school bus. After this crash, the driver tried to flee the scene by driving over the sidewalk, where the woman was hit by the SUV.
After striking and killing the woman, the driver of the Explorer then fled the scene and has not yet been located by authorities. The Los Angeles City Council is offering a $50,000 reward for information that brings the driver of the Explorer to justice. This offer is through the Hit and Run Reward Program Trust Fund.
We can only hope that this reward program will help lead to the identification of the driver who caused this Los Angeles wrongful death accident. Our office has helped many family members of wrongful death victims, including in pedestrian accidents and we have obtained millions of dollars in recoveries for our clients.
In this case, the first personal injury wrongful death claim would be made against the driver and owner of the Ford Explorer, as long as they are located. Hopefully there is a significant insurance policy covering that vehicle. If there is insufficient coverage or the driver is not located, it would be necessary to find an uninsured motorist policy for the victim. As a last resort, there are certain programs that provide compensation for victims of violent crime.
Unfortunately, in California, many people are driving without insurance or with the minimum liability coverage of only $15,000. For that reason, it is very important to make sure you have as much uninsured motorist coverage as you can afford, as this is what will help you if you are injured by someone with no coverage or insufficient insurance coverage. We wish our sincerest condolences to the family and loved ones of this woman who was killed.