A man died in a Greensboro accident after a commercial vehicle, which policy described as a work van, struck him. Authorities said that the driver of the work van drove off after hitting the man. Police have asked the public for help in locating the driver.
The victim was a 53-year-old man. Police will continue to investigate the accident but initially said that the man was crossing the street at the time of the accident, which happened at night. The man was not in a marked crosswalk.
North Carolina laws regarding pedestrians and vehicles
North Carolina has notoriously strict laws which prevent recovery when an accident victim, including a pedestrian, in any way contributed to his or her own accident through carelessness.
However, the mere fact that a pedestrian was not in a marked crosswalk when an accident happened does not automatically mean a pedestrian was careless.
For example, North Carolina law provides that drivers must always take care to avoid striking a pedestrian, even if the pedestrian should legally have yielded the right of way to the driver.
Furthermore, pedestrians do have the right of way when crossing the street in some circumstances, such as when they are near an intersection and there are no marked crosswalks in the area.
Pedestrian accidents require a careful investigation
An injured pedestrian, or the family of a pedestrian who died from his or her injuries, should resist the temptation to just give up and take the first settlement offer from an insurance company just because they feel that the pedestrian accident is somehow the pedestrian’s fault.
It’s generally a good idea to discuss the case with an experienced legal professional before making any final decisions about what to do.