A North Carolina father is due to spend 21 months in a prison cell after he was involved in a few car accidents and found guilty of committing involuntary manslaughter on his 3-year-old daughter. While he and the girl’s mother were not a couple, his last visitation day with the child would prove fatal. He and his daughter flew through the streets of Asheville, causing car accidents, before flying over 160 feet off of an embankment.
The accident happened last year when the man was said to have been traveling at high rates of speed — almost 100 mph. His defense claimed he had had a seizure, which then resulted in neglecting other drivers, in addition to the high rates of speed. The jury thought differently, though. According to computers programmed by manufacturers in the man’s vehicle, the data that was obtained showed fluctuation of speed, in addition to other movements in the vehicle, in the last few minutes before the crash. To the courts, this meant the man was likely coherent and played a significant role in his daughter’s death.
At the time of the accident, the father’s license had been completely revoked as a result of two previous DUI charges. This information may have played a major role in the man’s prison sentence, in addition to the formal crimes of which he was convicted. He pleaded guilty to charges surrounding other instances of the accident before the fatal crash, such as hitting other vehicles, assault with a deadly weapon, and driving without a valid license. The harshest crime to which the man pleaded guilty was involuntary manslaughter, which could have put him away for 12 years.
In addition to the prison time the man is facing, a $10,000 fine must be paid to the courts as a result of the car accidents caused. The judge also ordered the man to pay just over $8,000 to the mother of the deceased child, including her legal fees. The restitution the woman received shows that those who cause car accidents in North Carolina have a responsibility owed to the victims they have killed or hurt. The other person injured in the accident may also wish to seek restitution in a personal injury claim against the man.
Source: citizen-times.com, Man sentenced in Asheville wreck that killed daughter, Sabian Warran, Nov. 19, 2013