Washington, D.C. – A Maryland man was killed late Saturday night in D.C. while he was walking on the 100 block of M Street. Now police are looking for the driver who hit him.
Darnell Christopher Ross, 20, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland for an unknown reason fell into the crosswalk, landing partially on the sidewalk and partially in the road. After falling, an oncoming car ran over Ross, and left the scene of the accident, according to WUSA 9, local CBS affiliate.
Darnell’s mother Cassandra told reporter Delia Goncalves that her son had driven to the city to go to night club, and had called her just 30 minutes before the accident to say he had arrived.
To Cassandra Ross this is a great injustice, “Mostly, I’m angry because they didn’t stop. That’s just being cruel. I wouldn’t hit a dog and not stop,” she told WUSA 9.
Police are looking for the driver and encourages anyone with information to come forward. They believe Ross was hit by a White Buick and are hoping surveillance cameras can lead them to the driver.
Unfortunately, Ross is just one of the many people killed by hit and run drivers in Washington D.C. and the rest of the country.
According to the American Automobile Association, approximately 11 percent of all fatal accidents are hit and run collisions. And 60 percent of those victims are pedestrians that equates to 1 out of every 5 pedestrian fatalities, with a majority of those accidents occurring at night and on the weekends.
After analyzing data from the NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System, the AAA estimated that between 1993 and 2003, 14, 914 people were killed by hit and run drivers. What is even more troubling about these statistics is that the NHTSA observed a 20 percent rise in hit and runs between 2000 and 2005, according to the Washington Post.
Although a large proportion of these accidents can be attributed to errors on the pedestrian’s part, such as jaywalking or being drunk, there is no justification for hitting a person and leaving the scene of an accident. Not only is it unethical, it is also illegal, and hit and run involving personal injury can carry a penalty of at least 60 days in jail.
The reasons these drivers run are varied but usually involve some negligence on the driver’s part including intoxicated driving, driving without a license, insurance or improper paperwork. There are some instances where the driver is unaware they hit a pedestrian.
Hit and run accidents are costly to the victims as well as all drivers in general; the costs of these accidents are passed on to drivers through their insurance premiums. While police don’t catch all hit and runs drivers, there are many who are caught and can be held legally liable for their actions as well as forced to pay for their actions through a civil lawsuit.
When you have been injured in a D.C. of Maryland traffic collision, you need to have someone advocating for your rights and who is highly qualified to get you a favorable settlement. If you want the best D.C. injury attorney Lawrence Lapidus is the right man for you.