North Carolina Personal Injury Legal News
A terrible accident early on Sunday morning on Interstate 40 near the Wake County and Johnston County line has resulted in two deaths and serious injuries to two others. The accident happened when a slow moving vehicle was driving in the right hand lane and it was hit from behind by an approaching car.
The driver of the first vehicle, Kevin Johnson of Raleigh, was killed as was a passenger in the car named Rickie Richardson, Jr. of Fuquay-Varina. Two other passengers in Mr. Johnson’s car including Felicia Johnson and a five year old child were also injured. The driver of the car that hit Mr. Johnson was also injured.
This is a very complicated case from a liability perspective. North Carolina drivers must maintain a minimum speed on highways of at least 40 mph (and 45 mph in some circumstances as per NCGS 20-141(c)). However, drivers approaching slowed vehicles must also reduce their speed to avoid an accident. In this case, it appears that Mr. Johnson was driving below the minimum speed limit but also that the second car failed to reduce its speed. Hopefully, for the victims and their families there can be a just and fair outcome of this complicated accident.