A driver has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after a car accident in Tennessee that led to the death of a woman, a man and an unborn child. The woman killed in this accident was pregnant at the time and had reportedly stopped by the side of the road because she had run out of gas. A male neighbor had stopped to help her. After the neighbor gave the woman gas, a driver on the road reportedly struck them with his vehicle.
Both the man and woman died in the car accident and the child that the woman was pregnant with was also killed. The driver was reportedly intoxicated during the event. The state asked for the maximum sentence regarding the crime. The Assistant District Attorney stated that the man had a previous DUI charge and had not stopped drinking while driving. She further stated that the man had not shown remorse for his actions.
She used the fact that the driver did not turn himself in regarding the crime as evidence of this fact. The 30 year sentence contained 11 years for each count of murder, which included the murder of the unborn child, six years for tampering with the evidence, two years for leaving the scene of the hit-and-run and one year for reckless endangerment. Some of these charges were to be served concurrently.
The family of the woman and unborn child killed during this accident can pursue two wrongful death claims against the driver of the hit-and-run. The family of the man who was killed can file another wrongful death claim. A wrongful death claim allows the families to gain monetary compensation regarding the loss of their family members, including any burial expenses and associated costs that might have transpired.
Source: WATE 6 News, “Curtis Harper sentenced to 30 years in prison for hit-and-run accident“, June 26, 2013