Family suffers 3 deaths, injuries in fatal accident

Some of the most heart-rending stories about vehicle accidents concern those situations where an entire family are seriously injured or killed while riding together in the family vehicle. It is difficult to perceive so many closely-knit and loving relationships quelled by a fatal accident caused by an accidental mistake. If anything positive can come out of such events, it would be for others to commit themselves to assisting in the goal of preventing fatal car accidents in the future, both in New York and elsewhere.

An accident of that nature occurred on Sept. 7 on Route 17 in Mamakating, according to New York State Police. A married couple died in the single-car incident, along with the fiance of their daughter. The bride-to-be was in critical condition in the hospital. The couple’s two grown sons were also in the vehicle and were injured.

The details have not been released other than the report that the car they were riding in rolled over several times on the highway. They were returning from a holiday in the Catskills Mountains. The family was well known on the Lower East Side where they lived. They had been active in 9/11 recovery operations.

A vehicle rollover in this kind of fatal accident could be caused by defective tires or other deficiencies in the vehicle itself. More often, it is due to negligent driving. If the cause turns out to be negligent driving, all of the family members except the driver will be able to make claims for wrongful death and personal injury compensation of their damages against the driver. If there is found to be a defect in the tires or the vehicle, a claim can be filed by all of the family members who were killed or injured. In New York as well as elsewhere, a claim on behalf of a deceased person must be made by that person’s estate.

Source: NBC New York, “NYC Couple, Future Son-in-Law Killed in Catskills Crash“, Ray Villeda, Sept. 8, 2015