Wednesday night, shortly after 8 p.m., the grandfather of a four (4) year old was backing out of the family’s driveway in Douglasville, Georgia when he accidentally ran over and killed his four (4) year old grandson, Messiah Huiel, in a tragic accident. It was reported that the grandfather, Robert Lee Huiel, did not see the boy due to thelow-light and rainy conditions. First responders on the scene tried to revive the boy with CPR before taking him to Wellstar Douglas Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The preliminary investigation reports this to be a tragic accident. The Douglas Coroner, Randy Daniel, stated that, “My heart goes out to that entire family. They are all in our hearts and prayers. All of Douglas County needs to pray for these folks. They are going through the roughest time imaginable.” At Julie A. Rice, Attorney at Law, & Affiliates, our hearts pour out to the Huiel family in this most tragic time.
I describe a similar incident in my website when a young girl who was sunbathing in her driveway was accidentally run over by her father as he was backing out of the driveway leaving her paralyzed. Pedestrian Accidents can occur anywhere; on the street, in a crosswalk, on a sidewalk, in a subdivision, on a private or public roadway, and, as this and other cases illustrate, in our own driveway. It is extremely important that we use the utmost safety on our roadways and watch for pedestrians, and that, likewise, pedestrians are mindful of drivers. This is a joint venture in which both the pedestrian and the driver must be mindful of each other to prevent senseless tragedies such as this one.
It is unlikely that the grandfather will be criminally charged in this crime, as indicated by the preliminary investigation. In many cases, however, drivers are charged and held legally liable when a pedestrian is injured or killed in an accident involving a vehicle. Georgia Law gives preference to pedestrians and places a burden on the driver to be especially mindful of pedestrians. This does not only apply to crosswalks, this applies to any place where pedestrians may be on or off the roadway.
This does not mean that a pedestrian does not share the responsibility of using common sense and safe tactics when near traffic. A pedestrian is no match for a vehicle and just because the law may favor pedestrians does not mean that a pedestrian should not use caution when around vehicles by using crosswalks, sidewalks, making eye contact with the driver before crossing the street, not having other distractions such as headphones that keep the pedestrian from being able to pay attention to what is going on around them at all times, and the like.
It is also important that we teach our children to be careful around traffic, even if they are in their neighborhood, on the sidewalk, or in a place where they think they are safe from traffic such as their own driveway. To learn more about pedestrian and driver safety you may visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website and, specifically, the link Everyone is a Pedestrian for additional safety tips for both drivers and pedestrians.
If you or a loved one have been injured in a Pedestrian Accident, then we are experts in these types of cases and you may Contact Us anytime for your free legal consultation at 770-865-8654, (813) 363-6664, by email at juliericelaw@outlook.com, or on this blog by filling out the contact information form, or on our website.
We want the roadways to be safe for both pedestrians and drivers alike and hope that everyone takes the necessary precautions so that tragedies likes this one and others that we have seen do not happen; ever. Our prayers go out to the Huiel family, and any other family who has suffered this type of tragedy and hope that this never happens to anyone.