There have been more pedestrian accidents in Texas recently. In one of the latest of incidents, a retired Texas State University professor died Sunday due to serious personal injuries sustained in an auto-pedestrian accident in a San Marcos HEB parking lot. After accidents like this, the surviving spouse and children may have a wrongful death case against the negligent driver.
How do accidents like the one referenced above happen? According to San Marcos police investigators, a 93-year-old driver lost control of his car after backing his vehicle out of a parking space. According to a report, the driver’s foot slipped off of the brake and onto the accelerator. The car hit Hal Tucker Blythe, Sr., 85. The car accident occurred in a HEB parking lot.
Drugs and alcohol sometimes play a factor in these accidents, but not likely in this case. Investigators report that the driver’s vehicle is said to have sped backwards. After it went backwards, it struck and disabled a car driving in the grocery store’s parking lot. The car then continued traveling backwards and struck Blythe while he was taking an item out of the trunk of his own car. The driver then continued past Blythe and caused a multiple car accidents when it struck a second vehicle, knocking it into two other parked cars.
Blythe was transported by EMS to University Medical Center at Brackenridge in Austin where he died four days later. Our hearts and thoughts go out to his family and friends. The 93-year-old driver was not identified as no charges were filed against him. As you can expect the decision not to file charges would follow after law enforcement conducted a proper investigation.
In addition to the Blythe accident, both Midland and Odessa have seen an increase in vehicle and pedestrian accidents in the last month. Since January 30, Odessa has seen six car/pedestrian accidents and Midland has seen two more.
How can a pedestrian avoid an accident? When pedestrians are walking near or across the street, they need to use a crosswalk. Regardless if you’re a pedestrian or a driver, you need to be cautious. You need to be careful and always be alert. You need to be a defensive driver. Slow down. Use care caution, just know there is always a potential for little kids to be darting out at any time.
If both drivers and pedestrians use caution, the number of these deadly accidents will hopefully be reduced. But overall, staying alert on foot or behind the wheel is the best advice.
– Article By Richard Weaver, Texas Lawyer
