• 19
  • October
    2011

We have written about numerous car accidents in Alabama on this blog. The essential points of many of those stories are the same, but a recent car crash turned into something a bit more unique than the average accident scene.

According to news reports, a 3-year-old was hit by a car on Monday and is suffering with critical injuries as a result of the crash. Whereas a car accident, especially one involving serious injuries to a child, tends to leave behind a dramatic scene, Monday's accident led to something extremely dramatic.

The child apparently had his teenage uncle nearby when the severe accident took place, and that uncle didn't take what happened lightly. He reportedly acted out in an extreme way. He allegedly got a gun, fired off some shots and threatened the female driver responsible for the crash.

The driver didn't get shot, and the emotional uncle was arrested. He faces the criminal charge of attempted first-degree assault and is also in trouble for having a reportedly stolen firearm. All of this happened in the aftermath of the car accident, while the young victim continues to fight for his life in an Alabama hospital.

Threatening someone with a gun doesn't rewind life and erase the fact that a car accident occurred. If reports accurately convey what this uncle did, his actions only create more strife for this family and community to deal with in the crash's wake.

Society has laws and a process for seeking justice in order to keep people safe. If the family of the injured child wants to legally send the driver a message, the ethical way to do that is by filing a personal injury suit and trying to prove that negligence resulted in the victim's injuries. Suing also doesn't take back what's happened, but it's the civil way to handle a loss and prevent such losses in the future.

Source

Press-Register: "Teen charged with pointing gun at driver after 3-year-old hit by car in Foley," Guy Busby, Oct. 18, 2011