California Personal Injury Lawyers Blog
A salesman for CarMax, Warren Smale, was killed on Tuesday in an Ontario car accident. The car accident occurred when Smale was the passenger of a Chevrolet Corvette that was being driven by Alex Demetro. According to ABC11 News, Ontario Police are confirming that Mr. Demetro was driving at a high rate of speed when he crashed into a tree, tragically killing Mr. Smale.
Mr. Demetro was allegedly under the influence of drugs at the time of the car accident in Ontario, California. He has been arrested for gross vehicular manslaughter, for the death of Warren Smale.
Carmax is the largest used car retailer in the United States, with approximately 150 locations throughout the country. The driver of the vehicle on the test drive, Alex Demetro, was also allegedly driving with a suspended license.
There are many civil and criminal legal ramifications for a tragic car accident wrongful death such as this one. Criminally, the driver will likely be charged and may face significant jail time for the death of Mr. Smale. Civilly, the heirs of Mr. Smale will likely make a claim for wrongful death damages. Assuming that Mr. Smale was an employee of CarMax, there may also be a worker’s compensation claim.
We recommend that Mr. Smale’s family immediately speak to an Ontario wrongful death lawyer who can explain all of the legal complexities involved with this situation. One thing that should be investigated is whether CarMax had proper procedures in place to prevent an impaired driver on a suspended license from going on a test drive with a high speed sports car. If the procedures were in place, why were they apparently not followed in this particular situation?
Also, it will be necessary to find out if Mr. Demetro had liability insurance at the time of the Ontario crash. If he did not have insurance or had insufficient insurance, which is likely the case, did CarMax carry uninsured motorist coverage that would cover Mr. Smale’s wrongful death damages?
A good California wrongful death lawyer will examine these issues to get the best result for the clients, which would be Mr. Smale’s heirs. Our sincerest condolences go out to Mr. Smale’s family for their loss.