Lawsuit Filed Against City, School District, and Drivers for Teen’s Death
The father of a 14-year-old girl who was hit and killed while crossing the street has filed a lawsuit for the teen’s death. Daniel Strittmatter of Vineland, New Jersey, has filed a lawsuit in Cumberland County Superior Court seeking unspecified damages against a number of parties allegedly responsible for the death of his daughter, Alexa. Strittmatter claims that the two drivers who hit his daughter were driving negligently when the accident occurred, causing the wrongful death of Alexa and severe and permanent emotional distress to Alexa’s siblings, who were witness to the accident. Strittmatter also alleges that the Vineland Board of Education was negligent in failing to provide safety to students generally as well as safe bus transportation, a failure to notify parents that children were walking to bus stops in the dark, and other claims, resulting in Alexa’s death and her siblings’ emotional distress. Finally, the lawsuit claims that the city of Vineland’s failure to provide a safer crosswalk for pedestrians, even after being made aware of the dangers of that particular crossing, was also a cause of Alexa’s death.
The tragic accident occurred in the pre-dawn hours of October 30, 2013, as Alexa and her twin older siblings Tessa and Richard crossed a busy street to reach their bus stop. Driver Norberto Rodriguez-Centeno struck Alexa, sending her into the opposing lane of traffic, where she was then struck by driver Marthenia Gaymon. Alexa was taken to the hospital but succumbed to her injuries in transit. Neither Gaymon nor Rodriguez-Centeno were subjected to criminal charges for the accident, though both received minor traffic citations for violations not believed to have caused the crash (illegally tinted windows and worn tires, respectively).
When pursuing a negligence claim in a lawsuit, the plaintiff must show that the defendant had a legal duty to act or refrain from acting in a particular way toward the plaintiff, and that the defendant’s breach of that duty resulted in some physical or monetary injury to the plaintiff. In a claim against a driver who crashed into you, you’re arguing that the duty the other driver breached was a duty to drive safely. Specifically, the law requires drivers to drive the same way that an “ordinary prudent person” would, under similar circumstances. That other driver could breach that duty by failing to pay attention to the road, speeding, driving drunk or other negligent or reckless behavior. However, some claims do not involve such a clear-cut duty owed by the defendant to the plaintiff. For example, in this case the school district may argue that they did not have a duty to notify parents that students would need to cross the street to reach the bus stop, nor to take additional steps to guarantee the safety of students when crossing the street. The plaintiff’s personal injury attorney will need to show that the school district was responsible for student safety while reaching that bus stop, such as by presenting past New Jersey cases where judges have found school districts or other public entities responsible in such cases, as well as testimonial evidence from witnesses and employees of the school district’s knowledge of the hazard presented to students when crossing the busy street in the dark.
Personal injury and wrongful death matters are complex. If you or a loved one have been injured or killed in a car accident in New Jersey, contact personal injury law firm Massood Law Group in Wayne, New Jersey for a consultation at 1-844-4MB-HURT.
