San Luis Obispo, CaliforniaSeven years ago, a bright little eight-year old girl was out trick-or-treating on Halloween night with a group of her friends and family in a residential neighborhood in San Luis Obispo, California.

The group of trick-or-treaters – which included her sisters and a brother — were crossing South Street at the intersection with King Court.  The girl was slower than the pack and lagged behind them as they crossed the dimly-lit street.

It was just before 8:30 p.m. when Annie Tong-Try, 21, of Los Osos was coming down the street in her 1990 Acura Legend and saw the group of about six children up ahead crossing the roadway. However, instead of stopping her vehicle, Tong-Try swerved to the left in an effort to avoid hitting them.

The girl, whose name was Kimberly Macias, was struck by the car. Paramedics responding to the pedestrian accident quickly transported her to French Hospital Medical Center for treatment of critical injuries. Then she was flown by air ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospitals upon arrival, but sadly the little girl never survived.

California Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Her family was devastated in the aftermath of the crash. They sued the driver, Caltrans and the city for the wrongful death of their child. Although they won the lawsuit and $100,000 from Tong-Try, $75,000 from Caltrans and $35,000 from the city, but this was not about the money. This was a family that clearly only wanted to ensure that such a tragedy would never happen to another child again.

As part of their settlement with the city, the Macias family asked for a memorial bench to be installed at the scene of the accident honoring their daughter and for the city of San Luis Obispo to hand out reflective trick-or-treat bags every Halloween for the next 10 years.

“People who sue for wrongful death want one thing: justice,” said Attorney West Seegmiller, founder of the Seegmiller Law Firm. “Pedestrian accidents involving children are the most heart-wrenching  I know, however, the greater awareness of what can happen may help us avoid this ever happening to another child in the future.”

Safety Tips for Children on Halloween

Indeed, Halloween is supposed to be a fun time for children and adults, but one of the biggest threats to their safety is our dark roadways. Typically, most children are not out playing at nighttime or crossing busy roadways.

Sadly children are more than twice as likely to be killed by a car while walking on Halloween than any other night of the year just because it is dark, they are out with friends, adults may not be present, they are excited about getting candy and they are in a hurry to go and get as much as they can before they have to go home.

More than 540 kids under age 14 are killed in pedestrian accidents each year, Safe Kids reports.

Safe Kids analyzed deaths involving children between the years 2002 to 2006. What they learned was 2.2 children on average are killed in pedestrian accidents from 4 to 10 p.m. on Halloween, compared with one child every other evening at the same time.

There are ways you can help make Halloween night safer for children. Using makeup to create a scary face is a better choice than masks that can obstruct a youngster’s view of the roadway. Avoid dark costumes that make it difficult for drivers to see them when crossing the street. Stay on sidewalks, use crosswalks and have an adult walk with younger children.

This article was provided by the Seegmiller Law Firm. Our attorneys offer a free consultation for prospective clients who have been injured or have lost a loved one in a crash. Call 1-855-ASK–WEST (1-855-275-9378) to speak with an attorney.

For over 30 years, the firm has been a staunch advocate for victims’ rights and has fought to win justice for clients involved in personal injury and wrongful death cases, including premises liability, product liability, auto accidents, dog bites, nursing home negligence, medical malpractice, at-work injuries and more.  The firm has offices in Irvine, Riverside, Los Angeles Fresno, Sacramento, San Francisco and San Bernardino, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada.

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