California Injury Blog
San Diego County Fatal Freeway Accident
Raymundo Ambrosio-Vasquez, 53, was killed in a San Diego County auto versus pedestrian accident on the Interstate 15 in Poway the morning of March 25, 2009, according to a news reports in the San Diego Union-Tribune and 10news. The fatal accident occurred when Ambrosio-Vasquez, who was driving a white Toyota Tercel, had pulled over to the right shoulder and was standing outside his car. Ambrosio-Vasquez was struck by an Acura that had just entered the freeway from Poway Road, California Highway Patrol officials said.
The driver of the Acura stopped right away because he thought he had hit something and couldn’t see what he had hit in the dark. When he found the body of Ambrosio-Vasquez in the left two lanes of the northbound Interstate-15, the Acura driver started directing traffic to keep others from hitting Ambrosio-Vasquez.
My heart goes out to the family and friends of Raymundo Ambrosio-Vasquez. I offer my deepest condolences to everyone who knew and loved this man. Please keep them in your prayers.
Based on the news reports, it is not clear why Ambrosio-Vasquez stopped his car on the shoulder of the freeway and got off. There is also the question of why the other motorist did not see Ambrosio-Vasquez if he had his headlights on. The driver of the Acura, however, did the right thing by stopping right away and rendering aid to the victim, in this case, Ambrosio-Vasquez. California Vehicle Code section 20001 (a) states: “The driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to a person, other than himself or herself, or in the death of a person shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident.”
California law also requires a motorist involved in an injury auto accident to render aid to the injured victim, if it is possible to do so safely. Still, the question remains whether the driver of the Acura was negligent in failing to see Ambrosio-Vasquez standing on the shoulder of the freeway. The family of Raymundo Ambrosio-Vasquez would be well-advised to contact a reputed California auto accident attorney, who is well-versed in pedestrian accident cases as well.
A skilled personal injury attorney will also look into whether there were other dangerous conditions on the freeway that may have caused or contributed to this fatal accident. If there was a dangerous condition on the freeway that played a part in this accident, then Caltrans or the governmental agency responsible for maintaining that section of the freeway could be held liable. California Government Code requires claims against governmental agencies to be filed within six months of the accident.