Driver involved in fatal wreck finally has license taken away
Several months after the death of a man in a bizarre accident, the man’s widow is finally seeing a semblance of justice. The accident happened in December in Fillmore, California, when an off-duty sheriff’s deputy from Los Angeles County apparently blacked out from a seizure behind the wheel of his SUV. The vehicle crashed into a Starbucks, killing a 30-year-old Iraq War veteran who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Long before the fatal car crash, the California DMV had suspended the man’s license due to a seizure he had suffered at work. However, the agency had reinstated the man’s license just prior to the fatal Ventura County accident. The man’s license was only recently suspended again; he had been permitted to drive in the months following the fatal accident.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office says that it was not made aware of the accident by Ventura County officials, which is why the office did not take action sooner. The deputy involved in the crash is not required to drive as part of his job.
The widow of the man who was killed said she finally has peace of mind again now that the driver is off the road. However, merely knowing that the man is no longer driving is a small consolation compared with the loss of her husband, who had served in both the California National Guard and the Marines. In many fatal accidents, compensation for her loss of a loved one can help to ease the blow as well.
Source: Southern California Public Radio, “Widow relieved after DMV suspends license of deputy involved in fatal crash,” Stephanie O’Neill, April 16, 2012