California Injury Blog
Earlier this week, we posted “Will The Driver That Killed My Husband Ever Be Held Accountable?” written by our client, Deborah Reichle, who lost her husband, David Reichle, in a horrific car versus pedestrian accident on a Torrance street right outside their friends’ home in Torrance, Thanksgiving morning 2008. David suffered severe brain injury and died five days after the jeep driven by Sara Sherbin struck him. But even as she is dealing with pain, grief and financial instability in the wake of her husband’s death, Deborah is also dealing with shoddy car accident investigationby the Torrance Police Department, which may help Sherbin walk away from this entire episode as if nothing happened. And that is just plain wrong!
Here’s what happened. Sherbin drove down a very wide and quiet residential street. She claimed later that she didn’t see David getting out of his car and turning to talk to a friend on the sidewalk. Sherbin plowed through David and didn’t even stop after she hit him. Instead, she over-corrected and shot across the street before she came to a stop two houses away. Deborah believes Sherbin was driving recklessly that day and had counted on the Torrance Police Department to perform an unbiased investigation and come out with the truth.
But Deborah Reichle has been sorely disappointed. The investigating officer’s report was missing key witness statements thereby diminishing Sherbin’s liability. In fact, the report even suggests that David may have been at fault for exiting his van although he was fully out of the van and in plain view of Sherbin as she drove down the street. All Sherbin got was a minor traffic citation. She has not been charged and no charges are pending.
Where’s the justice here for Deborah and her three children? They watched David suffer a horrible, painful death. She has lost her dear husband of 25 years. Her children must grow up without the love and guidance of a father. They lost David’s business, which he spent 23 years building. They have very little to fall back on but are being faced with huge medical and funeral bills, business expenses and attorneys fees. Sara Sherbin should be held fully accountable for her actions. She was negligent and reckless and she should be made to take responsibility for it.
Bisnar Chase Personal Injury Attorneys has taken on Deborah Reichle as our client. I truly believe that Deborah and her children are the true victims here. They have been stripped of their livelihood. The Torrance Police Department owes them a fair investigation. I don’t believe and Deborah doesn’t believe that they have acted in good faith because this involves Sherbin, who is a Torrance resident. As California personal injury attorneys who have been representing injured clients and their families for the last three decades, we have seen that law enforcement agencies seldom allocate the time and resources to thoroughly investigate car accident cases. It takes experienced California car accident attorneys to really analyze all aspects of the case, identify the negligent parties and hold them accountable. And that’s exactly what we intend to do.