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New Orleans fashion designer succumbs to hit-and-run injuries

On Behalf of | Mar 16, 2021 | Motor Vehicle Accidents

A 31-year-old fashion designer of New Orleans was struck by a vehicle while walking her dog on February 27. According to New Orleans Police, the driver who struck the woman failed to remain at the accident scene. The suspected hit-and-run driver was later arrested for allegedly driving the vehicle that struck the designer. 

The accident 

A police record indicates that the 31-year-old woman was walking her dog when the car crashed into her. Reportedly, the impact was severe enough to send her flying. She landed about half a block away. She was rushed to a medical facility in the area, where she remained until March 2 when she succumbed to her injuries. 

The arrest 

Police reports further indicate that a 22-year-old man called police, making claims that he was carjacked at the time of the accident. Law enforcement found his abandoned vehicle on the same evening, close to the location of the crash. However, after studying the footage captured on surveillance cameras in the area, investigators determined that the carjacking claims were false. 

The captured images showed the driver ditching the car and then running away. Further proof was that the clothes he wore when reporting the carjacking were the same as those seen on the surveillance footage. The driver was arrested on a recent Thursday, with manslaughter as one of several charges he will face. 

Civil litigation 

Regardless of the criminal case’s outcome against the alleged hit-and-run driver, the surviving family members of the deceased woman will have grounds to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit in a New Orleans civil court. The fact that a suspect was identified and arrested might make the civil lawsuit’s navigation less problematic than in other cases when hit-and-run drivers remain at large.