Prosecutors decline to charge Caitlyn Jenner in fatal crash

On behalf of Aiken and Aiken P.C. Personal Injury Attorneys posted in Car Accidents, on Monday, October 5, 2015

Massachusetts readers may be interested to learn that California prosecutors announced on Oct. 1 that they will not charge Caitlyn Jenner in connection with a fatal car accident in February. However, a civil suit is still pending over the incident. Following a month-long investigation, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department ruled that Jenner was driving too fast for the rainy road conditions when she rear-ended a Lexus with her SUV on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. The driver of the Lexus, a 69-year-old woman, was killed when the collision forced her car into the path of an oncoming Humvee. Prosecutors declined to file a charge of misdemeanor manslaughter, citing that Jenner was not driving recklessly or at an excessive speed. They also noted that she didn’t flee the scene and was not using her cellphone at the time of the crash. To prevail in court, prosecutors would have had to prove that she was guilty of “ordinary negligence” in the accident. They did not believe they could. The Lexus driver’s two stepchildren are suing Jenner for unspecified damages in a civil wrongful death action, however. They claim the former Olympic gold medal winner was negligent in the accident and caused them and the rest of their family “great losses.”Massachusetts residents who lose a loved one due to the negligent actions of another party may benefit by consulting with an attorney. Even if the person who has caused the action has not been criminally charged, there is a lesser burden of proof in a civil wrongful death lawsuit, and the attorney may determine that filing a lawsuit seeking financial compensation for the losses that have been sustained is advisable.