Ohio Authorities Charge Cobb County Man with Vehicular Manslaughter
Authorities in Cleveland, Ohio have charged a truck driver from Cobb County with aggravated vehicular manslaughter after an accident there Sunday, according to The Toledo Blade. The man, Chana Roosevelt Carter, age 40, of Powder Springs, was driving a tractor trailer when he collided with a slow-moving line of cars on the Ohio Turnpike. A 14-year-old girl, Madison Creagan, of West Shokan, New York, died in the accident. Local authorities have also charged Carter with failure to obey a traffic control device and vehicular assault.
Construction Caused Slow-down; Carter Failed to Brake
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the tractor-trailer accident occurred at about 2 pm Sunday near the State Route 4 interchange in Erie County’s Groton Township. A construction zone covering part of the freeway caused traffic to slow down in that stretch. Law enforcement officials on the scene said that Carter didn’t slow down fast enough to avoid a collision with the slower traffic in front of him. Seven other people suffered injuries in the accident. Ohio state agencies are rebuilding the freeway where the crash occurred. Local authorities are holding Carter in the Erie County jail. There has been no positive or negative report of whether Carter was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident.
Under Georgia Law, Construction Contractors Can Be Liable for Accidents
The State of Georgia spends hundreds of millions of dollars every year on road construction. This money goes to private contractors to complete freeway construction and other jobs, as a report from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution explains. The state agency responsible for construction (for example, the Georgia Department of Transportation or GDOT) is usually immune from liability for accidents unless they fail to follow standard engineering practices in the construction of roads. However, private contractors can be held liable for negligence if they fail to take reasonable care during the construction work on a freeway, if that failure leads to injuries. For example, in a case called Comanche Construction Inc. of Georgia v. Department of Transportation, a construction contractor for the GDOT placed a detour sign so that it blocked a stop sign, which lead to an accident. The court found that although the state was immune from a negligence lawsuit for the injuries that resulted, Comanche Construction could still be liable.
Construction Contractor Could Be Liable in Carter Crash
If a case like the Carter crash were to occur in Georgia, would the construction company have any possible liability in a negligence lawsuit for the injuries to the seven passengers and the wrongful death of the 14-year-old girl? If the construction company failed to take reasonable care to provide warning of construction, and this prevented Carter from being able to slow down and avoid hitting the traffic in front of him, the construction company might be liable. Even if Carter also failed to follow the rules of the road (for example, if he was driving over the speed limit), the construction company might share some of the liability.
Get Legal Help
If you or someone you know has been involved in a car accident, you need legal assistance. Get in touch with a car accident lawyer at Williams Elleby Howard & Easter in Marietta to get the compensation you deserve.
