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A man has been charged with Criminally Negligent Homicide for his involvement in a rural Cooke County crash that led to the death of a woman. According to the crash report, it happened October 12, 2022 on FM 371 and CR 138 in rural Cooke County. A Hyundai driven by Lisa Sandmann (54), was stopped to make a left turn onto CR 138. While waiting to turn left, she was rear-ended by a Chevy Silverado driven by George Hardcastle (87). The impact pushed the Hyundai into the northbound land of FM 371 into the path of a Ford F550 driven by Michael Bayer. Ms. Sandmann was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead. Mr. Hardcastle suffered injuries but was not transported. Authorities have charged Mr. Hardcastle with Criminally Negligent Homicide for his involvement in the accident.
Commentary
Left turn maneuvers can be tricky and sometimes lead to an accident, especially when driving on a two-lane rural road. This is one reason it is so important to avoid distractions while driving on a two-lane road. Unfortunately, the driver in this accident was rear-ended and lost her life. The investigation did not indicate what caused the driver to rear-end Ms. Sandmann, but it did state that the driver failed to control his speed and lists distraction as a possible contributing factor. The family likely wants and needs answers to what happened that day. Since the driver was charged with Criminally Negligent Homicide, there may be facts that were not reported by authorities. All we know at this time is that a woman lost her life unnecessarily and now her family is faced with a tragic loss of a family member and legal issues including probate, insurances, negligence and potentially gross negligence claims. We don’t have to know what the coverage limits are for the responsible party’s insurance policy to understand that no amount of money will bring back a loved one. The question is will it pay for property damage, medical expenses, a funeral, and a wrongful death claim? Finding an attorney to help get all the answers about what happened in the crash along with evaluating the case for a Wrongful Death claim might bring some sense of justice, getting unanswered questions answered and hopefully someday, closure to a grieving family. It is critically important to take action quickly so that evidence can be preserved on these issues.
