$750K Settlement in Death of Woman Whose Car Was Struck by Truck

The family of a 25-year-old Bellevue, Wash., woman who died in August 2013 when her disabled car was rammed by a tractor-trailer on a highway has reached a $750,000 settlement in the case.

Alea S. Price died Aug. 26, 2013, when the crash occurred about 4:30 a.m. on Interstate 405 near Bellevue, according to an Oct. 12 story in The Seattle Times. Price’s car had struck a deer in the left lane of the highway and was disabled, so she sat in the vehicle and put its emergency flashers on, the story said.

Her vehicle was later struck from behind by a 28,000-pound tractor-trailer being driven by Kulwinder Singh, 48, killing her, the story reported.

The King County Prosecutor’s Office had declined to file vehicular-homicide charges against the driver of the truck, the story continued. “Evidence at the scene indicated that Singh slammed into Price’s stalled vehicle about 4:30 a.m. while traveling at 60 mph and did not apply his brakes until after the crash,” the story said. “Price, whose car had been disabled in the left-center lane after hitting a deer, had its emergency flashers on and had been avoided by several other drivers, according to prosecutors and her civil attorney.”

Later the Washington State Patrol filed negligent-driving charges and commercial driver’s license infractions against the truck driver, but they were later dismissed because of a missed discovery deadline, the story continued.

Some critics said Price should not have stayed inside her vehicle in the dark on the left side of the highway and should have instead waited in a safer place for help to arrive, the story reported. Her family’s attorney “pointed out that it was dark and that Price would have had to exit her car and run across several lanes with cars traveling at freeway speeds,” which would not have been a safer choice. “Her family would like to see an effort made to inform the public about the best procedures in a situation like this one,” the attorney wrote.

In this case, blaming the victim for her decision to remain in the car rather than to stand in the darkness on the side of the highway is anger inducing. This crash was caused by someone’s inability to stop a tractor-trailer that was driving down the highway, and was not the victim’s fault.

These kinds of tragic legal cases occur every day when innocent victims are severely hurt or killed in vehicle crashes through no fault of their own due to the actions, inattentiveness or indifference of others. That’s why it is critical to have a legal team on your side that uncovers every fact to bolster your case and maximize your damage award.

We here at MyPhillyLawyer stand ready to assist you with your legal case if you or a loved one is ever seriously injured in a vehicle incident or accident anywhere in the United States. We represent the families of victims who die in such tragedies as well, to ensure that their families receive every penny of damages that they are eligible to receive.

Call MyPhillyLawyer at 215-227-2727 or toll-free at 1-(866) 352-4572 anytime and our experienced, compassionate, aggressive team of attorneys and support staff will be there for you and your family every step of the way as we manage your case through the legal system.

When Winning Matters Most, Call MyPhillyLawyer.