Armando Daniel Espinoza, 19, died in an Inglewood pedestrian accident Sunday after he was struck by a car at the intersection of Prairie Avenue and 107th Street in Inglewood, according to a news article in the Daily Breeze. Espinoza reportedly ran across the street in front of a car, Inglewood police officials say. They are looking into toxicology tests to determine if Espinoza was under the influence of alcohol. Officials say there are several bars in that area. Espinoza died from major heard injuries.
I offer my condolences to Espinoza’s family. If I were a family member, I would want to find out what really happened. This accident reportedly occurred at 2:30 a.m. when there are likely to be very few eyewitnesses. It is not clear from this news report as to who saw Espinoza “running across the street” into the path of the car.
It puzzles me why the news report seems to be placing blame on Espinoza and not on the driver that hit him. Is there a toxicology report being done on the driver? Was he/she in one of those bars drinking to the last moment of service? Who substantiated the driver’s version of this fatal California pedestrian accident.
Unless there are eyewitnesses other than the driver of the car who hit Espinoza that say Espinoza ran into the street directly in front of the car that hit him, I wouldn’t buy it. If the physical evidence at the scene and of the car that hit Espinoza don’t match the driver’s story, I’d be highly suspect about what really happened. Espinoza’s family would be well-advised to consult a reputed personal injury attorney who will not only conduct a thorough, independent investigation to find out what really happened, but will also fight to protect their legal rights.
In 2006, the city of Inglewood, which is in Los Angeles County, had two pedestrian accident fatalities and 50 pedestrian accident related injuries. I am not readily able to tell if any of these previous accidents were at the same intersection.
If I were representing Espinoza’s family, I’d also look into whether the location where he was struck was a dangerous intersection. I often find that cities ignore dangerous roadways and intersections even after their residents and community members constantly complain about it. It takes a major injury accident or even a fatal accident for someone in city hall to sit up and pay attention. Often times, it takes a costly lawsuit for city officials to take notice of a dangerous condition on one of their own roadways.