It was a normal Wednesday afternoon on the day before Thanksgiving 2013. Glendalee Alvarado was walking her daughter Brianna home from school when a young life was cut short; another permanently altered. Footage from a nearby security camera captured the horrific scene as an SUV plowed straight into Alvarado and her daughter skipping down the street, pinning them under the vehicle. Seven-year-old Brianna died at the scene while her mother sustained life-threatening injuries. “It’s something that will never go away,” Glendalee told WHDH.
The Dorchester mother recounts the very ordinary events leading up to the tragic accident, explaining, “She was in front of me. We were walking and she was always in front of me, then I don’t remember. They said I tried to hold her jacket back but I don’t remember.” Glendalee Alvarado now has to cope with the loss of her young daughter on top of her own serious injuries.
WHDH reports that “Alvarado was hurt so [badly] in the accident she was in the hospital for about a week before doctors broke the news to her that her daughter did not survive.” Even now, several months later, she is in constant pain from a surgically rebuilt leg and paralysis after four strokes. Still, she says, the most painful thing is hearing her other children asking for their sister Brianna.
Glendalee’s attorney explains she needs extensive physical therapy, but has no income. Before the accident, she was working long hours to support herself and her children. Now she is faced with the crushing financial burden of hundreds of thousands of medical bills and is in too much pain to work. “She’s left with a child no longer alive and injuries many years to come and no money. She’s destitute through no fault of her own,” Alvarado’s attorney Joseph Machera said. “She’s a fighter. She wants to be able do things; she wants to be able to go to work.”
The driver of the white SUV that jumped the curb and hit the two victims was driven by 36-year-old Olivia Mora, who police charged with driving under the influence and homicide. Her car was uninsured. Mora is due back in court today.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that more than 4,000 pedestrians are killed each year in the United States; representing about 3% of all fatal auto-related incidents. A majority of these pedestrian accidents occur in urban areas where high volume automobile and pedestrian traffic is inevitable.
Victims of pedestrian incidents are often left to pay medical bills, lost wages, or any costs related to their injuries, especially in cases like these in which the driver did not have insurance. In addition to the mounting physical and emotion distress, victims can feel helpless while their crushing financial burden keeps adding up. Enlisting the assistance of an experienced personal injury lawyer is the best course of action in these tragic situations. At the law offices of Altman & Altman LLP, our team of Pedestrian Accident Attorneys have nearly 50 years of experience handling all types of personal injury cases and assisting clients in receiving the compensation they deserve. If you or a loved one was injured in a pedestrian accident, call one of our attorneys today for a free initial consultation and case evaluation. Our lawyers are available around the clock to answer any questions about your case, and all consultations are free and confidential.
Original article at WHDH.com