Young Driver Who Hit Six Cyclists
In September 2021, an event including a 16-year-old youngster who hit six cyclists after propelling smokes of drain clouds on a clutch of cyclists was broadly stated in the news media. The occasion occurred in Texas.
Primarily, the young were free by the police from sight without charges. However, the district attorney’s office in the county where the occasion occurred recently filed charges against the boy.
While the case is awaiting in Texas, if a similar occasion occurred in California, the culprit would also likely be accused of serious lawbreaking. In either state, the wounded sufferers would also be allowed to chase reimbursement through personal injury claims irrespective of the result of the criminal case against the culprit. Here is some information about the event and how it might be moved if it occurred in California.
Texas event
A group of cyclists were exercising for the Ironman Texas athletic competition and were cycling through Waller County, Texas. A 16-year-old boy was driving a pickup truck that had been altered to allow the driver to discharge dense vapors of exhaust fumes, an action that is colloquially known as “rolling coal.” The youngster initiated emitting exhaust fumes on the cluster of cyclists before striking six who was cycling ahead of his vehicle.
The boy was immobile and persisted at the scene. All six cyclists were damaged, and three grieved serious damage. Officers with the Waller Police Department replied to the act. Instead of retaining the young under arrest, the officers unconfined him without charges. This flashed national media thoughtfulness and barbarity, and reports later exposed that the young had links to members of the Waller City Council. The district attorney's Office filed six offense counts of serious attack with a lethal weapon against the young man. The DA’s office specified that the police had not correctly inspected the mishap and had been unsuccessful to inform the District Attorney’s office when the mishap happened. The teenager reportedly submitted to authorities and is being detained in supervision until a court appearance.
How would a similar case be held in Los Angeles?
If this case had occurred in Los Angeles, the youngster would have been accused of six counts of serious attacks. Los Angeles does not have a discrete statute for serious vehicular attack and classes this type of crime under the canopy of serious attack with a lethal weapon. In this kind of situation, the truck itself would be reflected to be a lethal weapon. a person who attacks someone else with a lethal weapon other than a weapon commits a crime. A sentence could result in a prison punishment of two, three, or four years and a fine of up to $10,000. Since the young was accused of six counts of serious attacks with six victims, he would aspect 12 to 24 years and a fine of up to $60,000 if he was charged as an adult in Los Angeles. However, since he is immature, it is likely he would be refereed in the young justice system and could be held in the protection of the Division of Juvenile Justice for an extreme period until he reached age 25.
Prosecutors in Los Angeles can select to straight charge youngsters as grownups when they are a minimum of 14 years old and are suspected of obligating certain crimes listed in the law. One of the crimes for which a young can be accused as a mature is an attack using force likely to cause a serious physical wound. Using a truck to powerfully run over six cyclists would likely succeed, so it is possible that if this event occurred in Los Angeles young would be accused as a grown-up and face adult criminal punishment.
Potential civil lawsuits
In Los Angeles, the cyclists who were damaged by the youngster would also have the right to chase payment by filing individual injury lawsuits. These kinds of lawful actions can be filed against offenders even when the offenders have criminal cases incomplete against them. The prohibition against double hazards does not apply when people are facing lawful actions under two different forms of law. Since individual injury cases are civil actions and not criminal cases, civil and criminal cases can be filed against an offender for the same conduct and continue instantaneously.
Civil vs. criminal cases
A criminal prosecutor is mandatory to prove the fundamentals of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt before an offender can be found guilt-ridden. By contrast, a civil accuser must prove the elements of a tort crime by a majority of the evidence to hold an offender liable to pay compensations. This is a much lower legal weight and means that an accuser in an individual injury case must present evidence showing that an event more likely than not occurred in the way the accuser claims it happened. The differences in the weight of proof in criminal and civil cases mean that it is sometimes likely to hold an offender accountable in a civil case even when he or she is originated not guilty in a criminal case for the same incident.
Filing personal injury lawsuits against criminal offenders might provide a way for the wounded to grip them answerable for their illegal actions even if they might be found not guilty in their criminal cases.
The potential liability of the parents
Some states allow accusers to chase a legal theory called the family purpose principle. In those states, car accidents wounded can hold the parents of a minor driver accountable in an accident when a vehicle driven by the young is used by the family for family determinations. However, California does not recognize the family purpose principle. Despite this, it is still possible that the teen’s parents could be held directly liable through a theory called careless entrustment.
Refer to an attorney
Cases like the one that occurred in Texas are shocking. Still, similar events sometimes happen everywhere in the U.S., including in Los Angeles. If you were hurt in a bicycle accident caused by a driver who was involved in intentional conduct, you may have the right to pursue a reward through a personal injury lawsuit. Contact our law firm today to schedule a free consultation at our number.
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