Three York County Teens Injured In Single Vehicle Accident While Fleeing From Police

Driving at excessively high speeds increases the risk of a collision, and the faster the vehicles are traveling at the time of a collision, the more serious the resulting injuries are likely to be.  South Carolina law defines reckless driving as driving at least 25 miles per hour faster than the legal speed limit.  Speeding, which is defined as driving 10 to 24 miles per hour above the speed limit, is a traffic offense that results in monetary fines and points on your driver’s license.  By contrast, reckless driving is a criminal misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in county jail, plus driver’s license suspension.  If you were injured in an accident caused by reckless driving, you have the right to seek compensation from the at fault driver or the at fault driver’s insurance company.  This rule applies whether the reckless driver struck your car or whether you were a passenger in the reckless driver’s car.  If you were injured in a single vehicle collision where you were a passenger, contact a Columbia car accident lawyer.

Teens’ Wild Ride Ends in Collision

On February 28, 2023, a South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper saw a car fly by at extraordinary speed on I-77 near Fort Mill in York County.  The trooper measured the vehicle’s speed at 108 miles per hour.  The driver then got off the highway at Gold Hill Road and made a U-turn near the patrol car.  The trooper began pursuing the car, which continued at high speed until the driver lost control of the vehicle and it veered off the road, colliding with a drainage tunnel, also known as a culvert.  One of the three occupants of the vehicle was ejected, but the other two were trapped inside as the car caught fire.

First responders arrived quickly and removed the other two occupants of the vehicle from the car.  All three were transported to a nearby hospital with serious injuries.  All of them are adolescents, although news reports did not publish their names or exact ages.

Your Rights After a Single Vehicle Collision

People injured in traffic collisions have the right to file personal injury lawsuits and personal injury insurance claims, even in the case of single vehicle accidents.  If the accident was the result of a police chase, and the driver was speeding only because he or she was fleeing for police, injured victims may have a claim against the police department or law enforcement agency that conducted the chase; they may claim that law enforcement unnecessarily endangered the occupants of the vehicle, when they could have simply noted the license plate number and sought an arrest warrant.

Let Us Help You Today

The personal injury lawyers at the Stanley Law Group can help you if you suffered serious injuries in a single vehicle accident where you were a passenger in the vehicle.  Contact The Stanley Law Group in Columbia, South Carolina or call (803)799-4700 for a free initial consultation.

Source:

wsoctv.com/news/local/york-county-teens-hospitalized-after-chase-ends-crash/WV3EJE7RBNAJBKS4HDNODNXIFY/