Charges Pending After Vehicle Catches Fire in Clay County Collision
An investigation continues after a destructive Clay County car accident causes a vehicle to drive off the roadway and catch fire on April 2, 2011 at 9:30am.
Douglas E. Beckner, 41, of Kansas City, Missouri traveled on M92 in a 2004 Nissan Frontier on Saturday morning. Beckner made a left turn onto Five Corners Road into the path of the 1991 Dodge Ram driven by Derek B. Johnson, 18, of Kearney, Missouri. Beckner’s vehicle was left in the middle of the roadway after the Missouri side impact collision. Johnson’s Dodge drove off the roadway into a field and caught fire.
Beckner was moderately injured in the crash. His occupant, Kyle J. Beckner, suffered minor injuries. E.M.S. transported both of the injured parties to North Kansas City Hospital. No injuries were reported for Johnson. Both vehicles were totaled and towed from the scene.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, an investigation into the accident continues. Charges are pending. The Missouri car accident was investigated by Trooper B. Sanson. Trooper Sanson was assisted by Sergeant R. Fletcher and the Clay County Sheriff’s Department.
The specific charges being considered by the authorities in this accident remain unreported. Sanctions after Missouri auto accidents range from fines to jail time. Fines are imposed after Missouri car accidents in which traffic violations play a role. For example, fines may be imposed for driving in excess of the speed limit or failure to obey a traffic control device. At the other extreme, the prosecution may charge vehicular homicide in the event of a fatality caused by the accident. Driving while intoxicated is a charge often used after auto accidents involving drugs and alcohol. The party-at-fault must handle the cost of any criminal sanctions in addition to any compensation that may be owed to the victim of the accident. In fact, criminal sanctions against the party-at-fault may help the accident victim’s claim.
Criminal sanctions against the party-at-fault may bolster the victim’s negligence claim. Even a typical traffic violation can be used as evidence of negligence. A statute violation establishes negligence when the victim of the violation was the type of person the statute intended to protect, and the injury sustained by the victim was the kind that the statute aimed to prevent. Drivers, occupants, and pedestrians are the type of people that most traffic statutes intend to protect. Missouri car accident injuries are the kind of injuries that traffic statutes aim to prevent. When drivers, occupants, or pedestrians are injured in car accidents involving a statute violation, they can use that violation to better argue for compensation.
If you are involved in a Missouri car accident, contact a Missouri accident attorney who knows how to search the facts of your case for evidence of negligence, including statute violations. Finding evidence of negligence through statute violations can improve the success of your claim.
