Negligent Homicide (auto accident)

A friend of mine is facing possible negligent homicide charges in Michigan after involvement in a fatal car accident involving two vehicles. She was not taken to jail, and has not been charged with anything yet (it happened 3 days ago). The police are waiting for her to talk to her lawyer and to make a statement, and I have advised her to make no statements to anyone until she does so. Her car is impounded for investigation.

It was a highway accident. The other party involved pulled out in front of my friend into the passing lane. My friend was driving faster than the other party and was forced to take quick corrective action by braking and swerving into the other lane. She lost control of her car and swerved back into the passing lane "bumping" off from the vehicle that pulled out in front of her. The other vehicle then lost control and rolled over several times killing a passenger who was not wearing a seatbelt (seatbelts are mandatory in our state). The contact was very minimal, and in fact, my friends car is completely drivable with very little body damage because it did not roll or make any other contact and came to a gentle stop in the median. Could these charges be possible comparative negligence charges? Do you know what the potential penalties involved could be?

This is for my own knowledge, so that I can understand what my friend is facing. Thanks for any advice or information!!

I of course would make sure that the person who was killed wound up with ZERO money for not wearing seatbelts...

Whatever happened to the term "ACCIDENT"?
guess that's why there are so many lawyers
out there these days.

NOPE its called Cover your assssssssssss

It was an accident sure....but they will try and pin a homicide charge on the driver of the car that HIT the other car causing it to roll over.

And IF the Friends Insurance company PAYS ANY MONEY to the dead person As a MATTER OF CONVIENCE.....YOUR FRIEND will pay higher insurance rates and they may cancell her insurance and she will have to PAY double or triple somewhere else

WHY???...BECAUSE THEY PAID A CLAIM ...read it in your insurance documents its in there

SO CYAsssssssssssss.......


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Sadd:
Whatever happened to the term "ACCIDENT"?
guess that's why there are so many lawyers
out there these days. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I just found out that the family of the deceased have TWO lawyers pursuing the cival aspect of the case. I do not know what her insurance policy covers and how much, but I am curious to know whether or not a judgement could require her to pay out of future earnings? She is a college student with virtually ZERO net worth.

Thanks for your input.

She has a lawyer of her own, so I assume you are merely curious. The reason the cops are pursuing her is because they haven't heard her side of the story & have no idea that she was forced off the road. Once they do hear it, they will still have to determine if her speed was a contributing factor. Ie, if she'd been travelling the speed limit, would she have been able to swerve to avoid the other car without losing control? That the passenger was unbelted is a red herring. Most states do not allow that information to be admitted at trial.

She will also need a civil lawyer. Anything she says to police or the insurance co. will be admissible in the civil trial. She might want to consult a civil defense attorney before talking to police.

Any judgment will hang around for at least 10 years, gathering interest. As soon as she's working, they can garnish her wages. She can discharge the debt in bankruptcy (maybe).

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This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.

[This message has been edited by Tracey (edited October 04, 2000).]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Tracey:

Any judgment will hang around for at least 10 years, gathering interest. As soon as she's working, they can garnish her wages. She can discharge the debt in bankruptcy (maybe).

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks Tracey,

That was exactly what I was looking for. I hope that she is not charged with anything. She has a lawyer and she is now seeing a psychologist about the accident too.

Ten years on the record huh? I hope that a charge like that wouldn't hurt her chances of getting a good job. She's been on the Dean's List every semester.