8-Year-old Brittany Noel suffered internal injuries and a fractured skull after being struck by an SUV in the schoolyard at E.G. Lyons Elementary School in Randolph, Massachusetts on Tuesday. She was placed in a medically induced coma at Boston Medical Center last night.
The man driving the 2001 Ford Escape was 86 year-old William Geisler, who was trying to park his car at the school so he could vote. He appears to have lost control of his SUV, which he drove through a grassy area before it hit the second grader.
About 70 students witnessed the accident. Some of them had to jump out of the way to avoid being struck by Geisler’s vehicle. A number of the children were reportedly traumatized from watching the motor vehicle accident. Emergency personnel had to pull the SUV off Brittany.
Geisler already has had two citations for speeding. He received one citation in Norwood in 1987 and another citation in 1995 in New Hampshire.
Elderly Drivers
Although elderly drivers are generally less inclined to speed or drive aggressively, their reflexes can slow down. While many elderly drivers are perfectly able to drive their motor vehicles into their 80’s or 90’s, there are senior drivers whose driving abilities start to fail.
Problems That Can Occur to Senior Drivers:
• Hearing problems • Visual problems • Drowsiness • Brain impairment • Dementia • The side effects that come from taking prescription medication
Although these side effects are not the fault of the elderly driver who is experiencing them, when any of these problems are the reason that an elderly driver loses control of a car, runs over a pedestrian, or strikes another motor vehicle, he or she may be held liable for personal injury or wrongful death.
If your child was injured in a car accident, a bus accident, a truck crash, or a motorcycle collision. You and your family may be entitled to recover personal injury compensation.
Girl, 8, hit by car at school poll, Boston Herald.com, February 6, 2008
Children scatter as SUV crashes at school, injuring girl, Boston.com, February 6, 2008
Related Web Resources:
Elderly Drivers, Insurance Information Institute
Senior Citizen Driving: Warning Signs and Helping an Unsafe Driver Stop Driving, Helpguide.org
Our Boston, Massachusetts personal injury law firm handles injury accidents involving injuries to minors that were caused by another party’s negligence. Contact Altman & Altman LLP today.