It is not unusual that people in California might consume alcohol during a New Year’s Eve celebration event. It is for this reason that many public service announcements are made leading up to this holiday on the last night of the calendar year urging people to identify a designated driver or to hire a taxi or ridesharing service in order to make it home safely. Sadly, there are still too many people who refuse to do this. Additionally, some people find that even making this choice is not enough to keep them safe.
This is unfortunately what some people in Los Angeles learned the hard way early in the morning on New Year’s Day. A group of people had opted to take a ridesharing service to get to their intended destinations. This is what many would say was the smart, safe choice but in this case it ended up resulting in tragedy when the Toyota Prius used for the rideshare was hit by a sport utility vehicle.
The driver of the SUV is said to have been speeding, drunk and failed to stop at a stop sign. To make matters worse, the drunk driver was reportedly involved in a hit and run event just before hitting the Prius. As with the first crash, the driver attempted to leave the scene of the accident but was stopped by some witnesses.
People in California who have been injured because of the reckless choices of another person might learn about their compensation options by meeting with an attorney.
Source: NBC Los Angeles, “Good Samaritans Stop Suspected DUI Driver From Fleeing Scene After Crash,” Jane Yamamoto, January 1, 2018