A Washington, D.C. female radio personality who had been living for weeks in the metro Atlanta area was killed in a car accident on Oct. 24 on the Interstate 20. The woman had been on her way to work at around 5:30 a.m. when she was struck by another vehicle at the I-285 southbound exit.
DeKalb County police say that the woman’s car stopped as she was exiting the I-20 and that her car was rear-ended by a box truck. The woman was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital before succumbing to her injuries.
The decedent was the News and Community Affairs Director for Radio One’s Washington stations. For several weeks prior to her death, the D.C. radio personality had been sending her broadcasts from Atlanta. The radio host’s co-workers back in Washington became concerned about her absence when she missed her regular broadcast at 6 a.m. that Thursday morning; it was not until 9 a.m. that the co-workers found out about the victim’s death. The woman was scheduled to be back in Washington that same evening before a weekend of station-related activities.
Victims of car accidents may sue the negligent driver for personal injury damages in civil court. When the victim of a crash dies as a result of the injuries sustained in the wreck, the surviving family members of the victim may hire a plaintiff’s attorney to file a lawsuit for wrongful death.
In a wrongful death lawsuit, surviving family members may recover lost income that would have been provided to the family by the decedent, as well as damages for the family’s pain and suffering. Lawsuits are generally filed against the driver responsible for the accident, but surviving victims may also seek damages from a car company that produced a defective vehicle.
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “D.C. radio personality killed in wreck”, Michelle E. Shaw, October 24, 2013