A California family has reached a $27 million\nsettlement from Sacramento County after a sheriff deputy’s SUV smashed into the\nfamily’s car as the sheriff’s vehicle drove at high speed without activating its\nemergency lights and siren in July of 2017. The crash severely injured the\nfamily’s then-10-year-old daughter, who suffered permanent brain damage in the wreck.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The child, Julian Awad, who is now 12, was riding in\nthe backseat of her family’s Honda CRV on Fulton Avenue at Pope Avenue around\n12:20 a.m. on July 14, 2017, when it was struck by\nthe sheriff’s SUV as it was driving to a call without its emergency lights\nor siren on, according to a Dec. 19 story by The Sacramento Bee<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Honda was being\ndriven by the girl’s father, Raed\nAwad, at the time of the crash. The girl’s mother, Nevin Awad, was also in the\ncar along with two other siblings who were passengers. The Honda was struck in\nthe passenger side by a sheriff’s SUV that was being driven by Deputy Sean\nSteen, who was rushing to a call in response to a bar fight in progress, the\nstory reported. The SUV was traveling about 84 mph at the time of the crash,\naccording to the plaintiff’s attorneys, while the posted speed limit on the\nstreet was 35 mph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The family’s Honda started to make a left turn at the three-way intersection when it was struck by a marked sheriff\u2019s patrol SUV heading north on Fulton Avenue, causing a violent collision, dash cam video showed,” according to the story. “Neither direction of Fulton Avenue at that intersection is controlled by a stop sign or traffic signal.” The crash was monitored by a dash cam in the sheriff’s SUV, which provided evidence to investigators. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nsettlement, which is the largest lawsuit in the county’s history, will be paid\nby the county and its insurance companies to provide continuing care for the\nchild, who suffered a massive closed-head injury in the crash. She will require\n24\/7 living care for the rest of her life, according to the family’s attorneys.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n In\na civil lawsuit filed by the family in December of 2017, they alleged that the sheriff\u2019s\ndeputy \u201cnegligently travel(ed) at a high speed well in excess of the posted\nspeed limit, while responding to an alleged crime in progress,\u201d causing the\ncrash, the story reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A\ncollision report by the California Highway Patrol confirmed that the sheriff\u2019s\nSUV caused the collision by speeding, noting that Section 20156 of the\nstate vehicle\ncode \u201cdoes not relieve the\ndriver of (an emergency) vehicle from the duty to drive with due regard for the\nsafety of all persons,\u201d according to the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Legal\ncases like this one occur around the nation every day and are examples of\nsimilar kinds of car crash cases that MyPhillyLawyer<\/em> attorneys\nregularly work on tirelessly for our own clients. Often, we are not able to\ndiscuss the cases we are actively working on due to confidentiality\nrequirements, so we discuss other relevant cases in the news such as this one\nto illustrate the legal situations people find themselves in every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you\nneed a car accident injury attorney<\/a>, we here at MyPhillyLawyer<\/em> stand\nready to assist you with your legal case if you or a loved one is ever\nseriously injured in any kind of vehicle crash, slip and fall, workplace\ninjury or wrongful death in Philadelphia or anywhere in the United States. We\npledge to make sure that you and your family get the compassionate, dogged and\nexperienced legal representation that you deserve and expect from a\nprofessional legal team which works hard to uncover every fact to bolster your\ncase and maximize your damage award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\nrepresent the families of victims who die in such tragedies as well, to ensure\nthat their families receive every penny of damages that they are eligible to\nreceive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Talk to a\nPhiladelphia car crash attorney at MyPhillyLawyer<\/em><\/a> by calling 215-227-2727 or toll-free\nat 1-866-907-2231 anytime and our experienced, compassionate,\naggressive team of attorneys and support staff will be there for you and your\nfamily every step of the way as we manage your case through the legal system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n