Car crash news
26/11/2009

Car crash news – Father seeks car accident compensation justice

The father of a 10-year-old-girl who died in a horrific car accident in the Dordogne in June 2006 will have to wait to discover the outcome of his civil claim for car accident compensation as the French court prosecuting the driver will not reach their verdict until mid-December.

The girl died alongside her mother and two other passengers after the driver, a former policeman from Somerset, drove his Jeep Cherokee home from a gathering with friends where four bottles of wine, 22 small bottles of beer and at least one bottle of spirits had been consumed.

The driver, who was found to have been three times over the French alcohol limit, survived the car crash along with another adult passenger and another child.

An earlier inquest into the car accident deaths heard how the two young female passengers had begged the adults not to drive home after having drunk alcohol, but their pleas had gone unheeded.

The accused maintains that as he approached a bend in the road, with a 19mph speed limit attached to it, his car inexplicably sped up to 61mph and this was the cause of the crash.

French investigators found no fault with the car and the driver maintains he felt fit and competent to drive.  However, the personal injury lawyer acting on behalf of the father of the deceased girl said that the driver could have asked a family friend, also attending the party and who had not been drinking, for a lift home.

The driver faces up to a maximum of 10 years in prison if he is found guilty of manslaughter, involuntary wounding and reckless driving.  His insurers will be liable for the car accident compensation if he is proved to have been culpable.