A New Haven woman was recently arrested after a car accident which left one woman dead. Police said the woman was driving a Buick Century and as she entered an intersection, she hit a Honda Civic driven by another woman.

Before the automobile accident, police tried to pull over the Buick because it was speeding wildly and going through traffic lights, but the driver wouldn’t slow down and the officer lost the car. According to police, the Buick was traveling 53 miles per hour over the speed limit.

The woman driving the Buick had a suspended license, police said. The Buick was unregistered, had the wrong license plate and was uninsured. In addition, an officer thought he saw crack cocaine on the floor of the car. He later found 45 grams of crack cocaine, drug packaging materials and $1,720 in cash from one of the two passengers, police said. However, laboratory results showed that the woman driving the Buick was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash.

The driver has been charged with manslaughter in the first degree, reckless driving, not stopping for an officer, misconduct with a motor vehicle, operating under suspension, failing to obey traffic control signals, misuse of marker plates, and operating an unregistered motor vehicle.

If the actions of another individual operating an automobile or other motor vehicle were careless, that negligent individual could be responsible for damages. Damages can include a personal injury caused by the driver’s actions for any pain and suffering, loss of wages, catastrophic injuries, and medical expenses. To determine the negligence of another, it is important that investigators immediately locate witnesses and obtain statements. A legal professional should coordinate a detailed investigation into the accident and then recommend the best course of legal action to take.

Source:  NBC, “New Haven Woman Charged in Fatal Crash” LeAnne Gendreau, Jun. 24, 2013