Personal Injury Law

Young Man Charged With Running Over Teen and Leaving the Scene at Drag Race

By Jeff Lowe, Esq.

A major news story in St. Louis caught my eye as a Missouri pedestrian accident attorney. As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Dec. 7, police have made one arrest in the death of a 17-year-old who was acting as a ?flag girl? at a drag race. Trenton Pinckard, 19, was arrested on the day of the article for his part in the crash that seriously injured Sammie Boldwyn of Hazelwood. Pinckard was racing another driver, who has not been identified although police are looking for him. Both drivers left the scene. Boldwyn is hospitalized in critical condition at St. Louis University Hospital, with injuries including swelling of her brain and broken ribs. Her mother and sister declined to comment.

The accident reportedly happened on the night of Dec. 5, at an illegal street race in St. Louis. A pickup truck and a Mitsubishi Eclipse were racing at about 9:45 p.m., with Pinckard reportedly driving the truck. The Eclipse was driven by a man and also had a woman passenger. Bystanders described it as gray with a missing rear bumper. Boldwyn was standing in the street to signal the start of the race, and as the vehicles raced by, the rear fender of the Eclipse knocked her over. The impact pushed Boldwyn beneath the pickup truck, where she suffered serious injuries. A spectator said she and others ran to Boldwyn after they saw the accident and called for medical help, but neither vehicle stopped. Police say they have strong leads on the identity of the other driver.

This terrible, preventable incident is attracting a lot of media attention, in part because it was caused by illegal drag racing. As a St. Louis pedestrian accident lawyer, I?d like to discuss how that could affect the legal consequences for Pinckard and the other driver. Both drivers may be charged with illegal racing, but even if they are not, the record will show that racing was the cause of the crash. This will hurt them if they go to trial in a criminal case -- and it would also hurt them if Boldwyn and her family decide to pursue a civil lawsuit as well. When drivers break the law, even by doing something like running a stop sign, they are usually at fault for any accident that results. That means Pinckard and the other driver are almost automatically liable in any legal claim for Boldwyn?s injuries. And that could be a large claim, because if the newspaper is right that she has brain swelling, doctors are probably concerned about permanent brain damage.

Full post as published by Missouri Injury Lawyer Blog on December 08, 2010 (boomark / email).