An 18-year-old high school student from Garner died recently in a car accident that resulted in charges against the 17-year-old driver and eleven other people. Police charged the driver with driving while impaired, being impaired under age and reckless driving. Law enforcement agents charged eleven other people on Feb. 28 with various violations ranging from possession of alcohol by an underage person or providing the alcohol to an underage person along with possession of marijuana.

According to the police accident investigation, the driver of a pickup truck was speeding in the early morning hours of Feb. 16 when he lost control of his vehicle and caused it to flip over as it left the road. The victim was thrown from the vehicle. Police said he was not wearing a seat belt.

A person who is injured or killed in car accident might have the right to compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering and other damages if liability for causing the accident can be proven against a negligent driver. If the injuries are suffered in a drunk driving accident, the drunk driver might be liable. The circumstances surrounding how the accident occurred will be the key to establishing liability against the driver.

The services of a personal injury attorney can be essential to a car accident victim or the victim's family in establishing liability for causing the accident. A personal injury attorney might be able to help the victim to determine the cause of the accident from the contents of the police accident investigation. If the driver of the vehicle is charged with driving while impaired, a personal injury attorney might be able to make a claim for compensation against the person responsible for obtaining the alcohol for the underage driver.

Source: WGHP Fox 8, "12 charged in connection with crash that killed NC teen," Feb. 28, 2013