Dothan, AL — A fatal accident outside Dothan was reported on Wednesday night (December 11) at about midnight. Police said that a 2-year old girl, Pasleigh Carroll, was killed and her driver, Jana Calhoon, was critically injured after their SUV was hit by a semi-truck on the Columbia Highway.
The accident happened when a semi-truck driving along Omussee Road tried to turn onto the Columbia Highway and failed to yield to Calhoon’s SUV. The two vehicles collided and Carroll was killed at the scene while Calhoon was taken to a hospital, where she was believed to be in critical condition, according to Dothan First.
Calhoon’s 3-year old daughter was also in the SUV with Carroll, but she wasn’t seriously injured by the impact. Dothan First also reported that Calhoon worked for Eastside Daycare and that she was taking Carroll home the night of the accident.
Police are still investigating and haven’t mentioned if the truck driver will face charges. He wasn’t injured by the accident.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary:
This accident caught my attention because we’ve recently handled a similar case where an 18-wheeler ran a stop sign and hit another car. Even though it sounds like a black-and-white fact pattern, you’d be surprised to know the opposite is true. Look at it this way: fault is assigned via percentage points in an accident case, and each party is generally responsible for only their contribution to the accident. A company whose driver was in an accident is going to try to protect their interests, so they’ll often try to put some of the blame elsewhere – even on the victim. It sounds strange say the victim is partially at fault if the other driver ran a stop sign, for example, doesn’t it? But if the trucking company is able to put 10% of the fault onto the victim for, say, speeding, then that’s less money they have to pay out. Remember, the trucking company wants to protect their interests. A lot of people get strong-armed into unfair settlements or even no settlements because an aggressive trucking company will take advantage of peoples’ lack of knowledge. This kind of situation can be much more complex than most would realize, and I try to post helpful information here.
— Grossman Law Offices
