At around 6:40 a.m. on Sept. 18, a driver in Florida fell asleep at the wheel and killed a 16-year-old boy. The fatal accident took place on Florida’s Turnpike outside Gotha shortly after the teen had been involved in a minor collision with another driver. A 32-year-old woman in a 2005 Nissan struck the teen while he was standing near the passenger side of his vehicle.
The teen victim had gotten out of his vehicle after the first of the two car accidents in order to speak to the other people that were involved. He was hit and killed while walking back to his car to turn on his emergency flashers. The deceased teen’s father told reporters that the driver who killed his son made a poor choice to drive that day.
The deceased victim was a senior at Apopka High School, and he wanted to become a registered nurse after graduation. He had recently lost his mother when she died from a heart attack in November. There were no reports about whether the driver who killed the teen was handed any criminal charges. The driver sustained minor injuries in the crash.
A person who falls asleep at the wheel while driving may be found guilty of negligence if an accident is caused. In the event that another person was killed, the surviving family members of the fatal car accident victim may want to meet with an attorney to discuss the filing of a wrongful death lawsuit that would seek compensation for funeral and burial expenses and other losses.
Source: Orlando Sentinel, “Father: 16-year-old Apopka boy killed on turnpike was ‘treasure’,” David Harris, Sept. 19, 2016