You asked, so I will deliver... How could a car accident be mistaken for a homicide?
My sister was involved with a man who abused her physically, but she wasn't completely innocent, either. Just two (2) days prior to this accident, my sister and her boyfriend had an altercation, and the police were called to the scene. The boyfriend stuffed a sock down my sister's throat, and urinated on her. However, he also suffered injuries and scratches were evident on his face and neck. They were both brought in for questioning, but no charges were brought against either one of them.
This boyfriend was well known to the police for his less-than-stellar reputation, and his highly-paid, excellent lawyer who seemed to always win his cases, including the cases involving the boyfriend. These behaviors and situations set the stage for the detectives' resentment and suspicion.
The evening of the accident, my sister and her boyfriend had yet another argument but, according to the boyfriend, he did not see my sister that evening, or again until she was hospitalized. However, she went out with another "gentleman" that evening, I'll refer to him as, "M...", a new acquaintance of my sister, and as she was driving him home, the accident occurred - and, it occurred under some very suspicious circumstances.
My sister kept telling me, and the police, to ask "M..." what happened; she stated that he knew everything, including what happened in the car before, during and after the MVA. (Initially, my sister lived through the accident, but she progressively worsened over the next several days, and then died).
"M..." was the person in the car with my sister that evening. Apparently, M... wanted to drive the Miata, but my sister refused to let him. The two of them had a bit of a fisticuff, there in the car, which caused my sister to lose control of the car, and hit a fire hydrant at low speed, resulting in the deployment of the air bag.
As a direct result of the air bag deployment, my sister's carotid artery was severely damaged. Due to the accident, her neck was severely traumatized both externally and internally - injuries and symptoms she also exhibited in some of the post-abuse scenarios between her and her boyfriend. Back in 1994, the knowledge of air bag injuries was nearly non-existent, at least to the general public. (There is evidence, however, that Mazda, as well as other car manufacturers, were aware of the possible dangers air bags represented.) Therefore, my sister's injuries were deemed to be the result of yet more physical abuse from her jealous boyfriend (especially since my sister was out with another male).
EMT's arrived on scene, soon after the accident - she was transported to the hospital with symptoms that included changes in her LOC, slurred speech, uncoordinated movements, severe head and neck pain, etc. However, after a physical examination by the ER MD, they released her without performing any tests, except for a BAC.
Due to her symptoms, the ER personnel assumed she was intoxicated; however, although the BAC revealed some alcohol intake, it did not show any legal intoxication. This was a fatal mistake of the ER personnel.
Early the next morning, my sister seized severely, and was taken back to the hospital where a carotid catheterization was performed. Unfortunately, this test revealed a large impairment of blood flow to the brain - a blood clot. She was then placed in the ICU, but the damage was done - specifically, the lack of blood flow caused severe, unrecoverable cerebral anoxia - and, she went onto develop a full right-hemisphere CVA (aka stroke), and she died three days later.
During this episode while my sister was lucid, the detective(s) assigned to the case became convinced that my sister was physically abused, leading to her injuries. When she died, the case became a homicide. My suspicion was that this "friend", the Mr. "M..." to which I keep referring, instigated the accident because he was either dead-set upon driving the Miata, and/or not wanting to go back to his own home, secondary to being, possibly, romantically inclined toward my sister. This possible lead was not followed.
As hard as they tried, the detectives could not pin the death of my sister onto her boyfriend. She never identified him as the cause of her demise. She just kept saying, "Ask M...; he knows everything." So, the case went cold, and as far as I knew, as far as anyone in my family knew, it remained an unsolved homicide.
Then, in 2000 apparently, a detective specializing in accident investigations and unsolved crimes reviewed the case. It was after this review that he determined the cause of her death was an air bag injury. My mother never received a letter, and neither did my father - the only two people who could pursue a wrongful death case.
Whether or not the county is required to send certified letters, surely they must be required to assure the intended recipients receive any legal court documentation - just as in cases where mandatory appearances by defendants are required. The burden to assure someone has received correspondence from the court lies with the court representatives, not the recipients, i. e., my parents, who have no idea the court is trying to contact them.
I hope I have clarified things for you, and thank you so very much for reading this lengthy reply to your reply. It's just all so very involved.
Thanks again,
Cat
