Just about everyone, whether they live here in Colorado or somewhere else in the country, has attempted to get through an intersection before the light turns red. Those who made it through the intersection unscathed ought to count themselves lucky because it could have turned out badly. Still others fail to pay attention or are impaired when they do not stop at red lights. No matter what the reason, running red lights can easily end in fatal motor vehicle accidents.
Police say this is what happened recently in a suburb of Denver. At around 2 a.m. on a recent Sunday night, a southbound vehicle occupied by three people entered an intersection on a green light. At the same time, an eastbound vehicle failed to stop at the red light and slammed into the first vehicle.
The two occupants of the southbound vehicle, a 30-year-old man and a 26-year-old man both lost their lives in the crash. The driver of the eastbound vehicle suffered serious injuries and was still in the hospital as of the Tuesday following the crash. As the investigation continues, that driver could leave the hospital only to face criminal charges in connection with the crash.
In the meantime, the families of the two deceased men, who are from Kansas, could file wrongful death claims against the surviving driver here in Colorado. Due to the distance involved, they may decide to do what others who live out of state and lost loved ones in fatal motor vehicle accidents do and work with a local attorney as they pursue restitution for their losses. Successfully proving negligence on the part of the driver believed to be at fault could result in a much needed award of damages to help with the financial impact of this tragedy.