A woman and a child, whose relationship with each other was not specified, died on a road in Killeen after they were hit by a car. The accident happened around midnight. Both of the victims will have autopsies performed on them.
Police said that the car’s occupants were not hurt, and the driver of vehicle apparently remained at the scene of the accident. It was not clear whether the mother and child were hit while crossing the street in the crosswalk.
In Texas, drivers of cars are supposed to yield when pedestrians are crossing a street in the crosswalk. However, this is not a general license for drivers to not worry about the safety of pedestrians when they see one who is not in a crosswalk.
For all cases, Texas drivers have to take reasonable steps to make sure they do not hit a pedestrian, and this is particularly true when the pedestrian is a child or is someone who appears to be incoherent or dazed.
Whenever a family loses a loved one to a pedestrian accident, they may want to consider their legal options. Oftentimes, the family of the pedestrian can obtain compensation for their funeral expenses, lost income, outstanding medical bills and the like by filing a wrongful death case against the negligent driver who struck the victim. A Texas personal injury attorney can help a grieving family file a wrongful death claim and pursue it as necessary. While this type of procedure obviously cannot bring a loved one back, it can give a family some sense of justice and can also help them cover some of their expenses.