ONTARIO, California – Davidea Farber, 22, and Adriana Zenteno, 4, were killed Saturday night after their vehicle was rear-ended by a U-Haul box truck on State Route 60 near the Vineyard Avenue off ramp, according to a San Bernardino County Sheriff Coroner Department press release.
According to the report, Farber, a resident of San Bernardino, had stopped her 1998 Mercury in the No. 3 lane of the westbound 60 freeway for unknown reasons. After she got out of the vehicle, it was struck by the U-Haul truck and she was subsequently thrown into the roadway.
The child, who was restrained in her car seat in the back of the Mercury, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash about 8:40 p.m., the report said. The girl is a resident of Riverside.
Ontario Fire Department Paramedics responding to the scene of the 8:13 p.m. crash transported Farber to Kaiser Permanente Ontario Medical Center where she died shortly after at 8:33 p.m., the report said.
California Highway Patrol officers are investigating the crash to determine why it happened.
“Most crashes involving rear-end collisions could be avoided if drivers are attentive and leave plenty of space between vehicles on the freeway,” said Attorney West Seegmiller. “Drivers who are distracted may not see traffic stopped ahead and the result can be a rear-end collision such as this tragedy.”
Wrongful Death in California
A wrongful death is a tort or in other words “a private or civil wrong or injury.” The families of motorists killed in a car crash due to someone else’s negligence may find some justice for the victim by filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the negligent driver who caused the crash.
When a motorist causes injury or death because of their “conscious failure to act to avoid the danger” they can be liable for the injury or death that results from their actions. The type of actions that would lead to a tort for wrongful death include drunk driving, speeding, distracted driving or reckless driving for example.
In California, fatal traffic accidents were down 12% to 2,715 deaths in 2010 compared to 3,090 killed in 2009, according to statistics compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Additionally, national statistics show that traffic fatalities have declined in recent years across the United States, down roughly 3% to 32,885 deaths in 2010 compared to 33,883 killed in 2009.
