One person died in a double West Chester car crash on May 29. The fatal accident occurred shortly after another collision in which a vehicle fled the scene. That vehicle was also involved in the second crash about a minute later.

The first collision occurred around 8:30 a.m. on Ohio 747 between Mackenzie Court and Union Centre Boulevard when a black pickup truck rear-ended a sedan. The truck, which continued traveling south on Ohio 747, then ran a red light at the intersection of Port Union Road and collided with a small sedan, killing its driver; the 62-year-old Fairfield man had suffered undisclosed injuries. Paramedics took the pickup’s driver, a 32-year-old West Chester man, to West Chester Hospital for treatment of his injuries. No one else was hurt.

Police said that they did not suspect alcohol as a contributing factor in the accident but added that the pickup’s driver could have been speeding. They also stated that charges were pending. Reports indicate that the man was the defendant in a lawsuit that resulted from a 2012 accident in which the plaintiff said that he suffered severe and permanent injuries because of the West Chester man’s negligence. The lawsuit was settled out of court.

Drivers who flee the scenes of accidents might speed to get away from witnesses and other vehicles involved. Their panic may affect their perception, altering their response times and sometimes causing additional accidents. The families of deceased victims of negligent drivers might consider filing wrongful death suits for medical expenses, burial costs and other related damages.

Source: FOX 19, ‘West Chester Police: Charges pending in Thursday morning accident,” Paul McKibben and Kara Foxx, May 29, 2014

Source: FOX 19, “Police investigate fatal accident at Ohio 747, Port Union Road in West Chester“, Paul McKibben, May 29, 2014