Car crashes through 2nd-story window in California

Few people imagine being involved in a car accident while they are sitting in their living room. The road is where the vast majority of auto wrecks happen, of course. But no building close to the street is safe from reckless motorists. And if you or your love ones are in the wrong part of the house when the car crashes through the wall, someone could get seriously hurt.

Scary crash into a building

A scary and bizarre crash that took place in southern California recently illustrates that bad drivers can strike virtually anywhere. On Jan. 14, a car crashed into the second story of a dentist’s office in Santa Ana after launching itself from the street.

According to WABC-TV, police believe the driver crossed three lanes and struck the concrete divider. Apparently, the car was going so fast that instead of stopping or even flipping over, the car went airborne. It crashed through a second-story window and started a small fire. (You can see a photo of the crash scene here.)

The aftermath

One person inside the car was burned in the fire, but managed to escape the vehicle. It is not clear from the WABC story if the injured person was the driver or passenger. Firefighters had to help another person get out of the vehicle. Fortunately, it does not sound like anybody inside the office was caught in the crash. The incident took place around 5:30 am, so it is likely that nobody was inside the building at the time.

The apparent lack of judgment shown by the driver, along with the time of day, suggests that drugs or alcohol could have been a factor. Still, it could simply be that the motorist was sober and lost control while speeding. It is very fortunate that more people were not hurt.

Comparative Fault In California

Often in car crashes, there is some fault to go around. For example, one driver could run a red light and hit another driver who was speeding. California is a comparative negligence state, which means that the damages plaintiffs can get at trial are affected by the percentage of fault the jury assigns to each party. So, if the jury finds that the defendant was 80 percent at fault for the crash and the plaintiff was 20 percent liable, the plaintiff’s damages will be reduced by 20 percent.

In this case, without any new evidence, it would be very hard to see anybody other than the driver being 100 percent at fault. It is possible that mechanical failure caused the driver to lose control, however.

Call An Attorney

Determining fault and filing a successful personal injury lawsuit are complicated legal matters that require experienced representation. Without a personal injury lawyer, you could lose out on your rightful compensation for your medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering.