Unfortunately, life is not always fair, and even when we try to the right thing, there are unforeseen consequences. This was the case recently on US-59 when a good Samaritan was killed by an 18-wheeler.
The incident
According to the Rosenberg Police Department and Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office, the commercial vehicle accident happened Wednesday morning just after 8:00 a.m. in Rosenberg, Texas. A driver pulled over on US-59 in the northbound lane, between FM 762 and Reading Road, to check on an injured dog. While attending to the animal, he was hit by an 18-wheeler, who continued down the road without stopping. The man died at the scene.
The investigation
The accident shutdown the roadway, and RPD diverted traffic away from northbound US 59. And, the accident investigation shut down those lanes, and FM-2218 to FM-762, for most of Wednesday morning.
At the conclusion of their investigation though, RPD is calling this fatal truck accident a horrible accident. As a result, they do not anticipate charging the 18-wheeler driver.
Post-accident options
At first blush, some may assume that because RPD is not charging the 18-wheeler driver means that the driver was not negligent and has no liability. However, this is simply not necessarily the case.
Houston, Texas, police and prosecutors must prove that someone committed a crime beyond a reasonable doubt, which is an extremely high bar to pass. Plus, often, for actions to be criminal, one must have the required state of mind, which again, can be hard to prove. This means that, even when police do not charge a person, if a victim can prove negligence, the negligent person can still be held liable in a personal injury lawsuit.
This is why the family of the victim here should contact an attorney immediately. The attorney can read the accident reports, do an independent investigation and determine whether negligence was the cause of the death. If so, the family can sue the driver and likely their employer as well.