Hurricane Irene Causes a Fatal North Carolina Car Accident that Takes the Life of a Child

August 31, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

Last Saturday, after Hurricane Irene blew through Goldsborough and took out several traffic lights, a teen died in a horrific North Carolina car crash. According to Police Captain Chad Calloway, “The wreck likely would not have happened if the traffic signals were working.” The young girl died around 4 PM. Her death was the second that North Carolina officials pinned directly on Hurricane Irene. On early Saturday, a tree limb fell on a man in Nash County and killed him. A Washington Post article several days later said that all together six North Carolinians died during Hurricane Irene’s assault. Among those killed:

• Katherine Cruz, the 15-year-old who died in the traffic light accident;
• Sixty-year-old Ricky Webb, the man killed by the tree limb;
• Fifty-year-old Tim Avery, who was killed when a tree fell on to his home;
• Jose Corona, who died in a separate traffic accident;
• Sabrina Jones, who died when a tree fell on her car;
• Melton Robinson, Jr., who was found in the Cape Fear River.

Tragic North Carolina car accidents occur even during normal, sunny weather. Victims and their family members are often left shell-shocked and flatfooted by the sudden and terrible news.

Unfortunately, the longer a victim (or family member of a victim) waits to take action, the more difficult it might be to achieve a good outcome in the legal system, including just compensation. Evidence from a crash – especially a crash that occurs during stormy weather – can be washed away or cleared off the road by maintenance crews. To that end, you should consider speaking with an attorney at an experienced North Carolina car accident law firm to go over what you should (and should not) do to protect your rights, ensure justice, and return your family to a sense of normalcy and stability.

More Web Resources:

Katherine Cruz accident

Irene and North Carolina