As if we needed another reminder, a recent fatal car accident in San Diego was likely due to distracted driving. The driver thought to be responsible for the wrongful death has been charged with felony vehicular manslaughter and gross negligence. She faces a maximum of 6-years in prison.

The collision occurred at 11:00 a.m. during the middle of the week. The victim of the accident was traveling along Interstate 405 near Fountain Valley and was waiting at a stoplight. The driver charged in the crash came up upon her while traveling at speeds of up to 80 miles per hour. It is not believed that this driver slowed down or braked when she crashed into the victim's vehicle.

The victim's vehicle was subsequently pushed into a car in front of her and did not come to a stop until it struck a center divider. The victim died of her injuries some seven hours later while the driver that ran into her was treated for minor scratches.

There are also statutes that prohibit distracted driving, demand adherence to traffic signs or signals, and require extra caution when one approaches an intersection. That these statutes seem uncomplicated and straight forward is belied by the fact that such accidents increasingly occur.

There are attorneys that can make sense of the rules and regulations on the road, and these same individuals specialize in investigating such accidents as the one that happened here. Law firms often have access to individuals and resources to make determinations as to how fast vehicles were traveling at the time of a collision, and such attorneys will usually have a good idea as to how such an accident occurred.

Whatever criminal penalties the individual that caused this accident, it will do nothing to help the family out that has suffered an indescribable loss. The victim in this accident was a 23-year old woman and an assistant high school softball coach. Civil compensation will not make up for their loss but can possibly help the family pay for the funeral and financially get by.

Source: 10News.com, "U-T:DA: Driver was Distracted in Fatal Crash," by Susan Shroder, Jan. 27, 2012