Two Killed in Police Chase Accident in Fulton County
Two women were killed in an accident yesterday after their car was struck by a pickup truck fleeing Clayton County police. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Clayton County police saw the driver of the pick up truck, Christian Harris, slow to talk to a woman beside the road in an area known for prostituion. As police walked up beside the truck, it sped off 'recklessly" and they gave pursuit when the men fled the scene. Within a brief time, the pick up truck struck a Saturn. The impact of the accident sent the Saturn airborne. The woman inside were killed. After the accident, Harris fled the scene, but Harris was later arrested.
The Clayton County Police Department is considering a meeting to review the chase, and the Georgia State Patrol will also conduct its own review. This accident is bound to trigger off debate about high speed police chases, and if one was necessary in this case. The number of police pursuits increases every year, even in the face of statistics showing ever increasing deaths in these pursuits. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System reflects that from 1998-2007, crashes involving police pursuits resulted in an average of over 350 deaths per year, and these statistics do not include the thousands of serious injuries resulting from these pursuits. Studies also show that a lack of training increases the risk of pursuit related injuries, not only because the officers do not have proper training as to how to engage in a pursuit, but also because they do not have proper training as to when to initiate or discontinue a pursuit.
My heart goes out to the families of the two women who were in the Saturn. They were doing nothing wrong, and had to pay the ultimate price for what may turn out to be an unnecessary high speed pursuit.
Wrongful Death Laws in Georgia
Georgia law allows the families of victims killed due to another's negligence or recklessness, to recover for the wrongful death of a loved one. Families can recover both the economic losses and the non-economic (value of life to oneself) damages as well as for funeral, burial expenses and medical expenses. If there was any conscious suffering, that is compensable as well.
Jason Schultz is a Fulton, Clayton and Fayette County wrongful death attorney who represents survivors of victims killed because of other's negligent actions.
