Q: Made left turn at T intersection during green light, hit pedestrian in crosswalk.
I was in the vertical portion of a T intersection about to make a left turn. The light was initially red so I waited. A truck coming from the right side of the T trying to make a left turn down the vertical part of the T pulled into the intersection after his light turned red and mine turned green, blocking my view of the intersection. As he completed his turn I began pulling into the intersection to make my left turn. Apparently there was a crosswalk directly behind the truck and a woman had just began crossing the road. I didn’t see her until I was a few feet in front of her. I slammed on my brakes but hit her anyway. She walked away from the accident but went to ER to get checked out. I got a ticket for failure to yield to pedestrian and have to go to court. Should I plead guilty or not guilty? The police officer said to plead not guilty but I am not sure if I want to go through a trial. I also don’t want to get sued and I’m afraid if I plead guilty it may open me up to a lawsuit.
A:
You can be sued regardless of what you plead. You can plead not guilty but you will have a problem if you hit someone in a crosswalk which you didn't see because your view was blocked.....and then you drove forward without seeing what was on your now unblocked field of view.
If you have insurance report it to them. They will take care of any lawsuit so let them handle that worry.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
