Wisconsin residents know that there are many causes of car accidents, and distracted driving is one of them. Most people would never think of a distraction coming from another car, wherein a young boy is holding a gun. However, that situation did occur when an 11-year-old Wisconsin boy pointed a pellet gun out of the window of the car he was riding in.
According to reports, the boy was riding in his grandmother’s car. He held the pellet gun, which looked like a real gun from some distance, out of the window. A nearby motorist was understandable spooked by the visage of a gun in the other car and slammed on her brakes.
The sudden stop of the vehicle began a chain of car accidents. The car immediately following the woman who stopped couldn’t stop in time, so it rear-ended her vehicle. The driver attempted to travel around the woman’s car to avoid the rear-end collision, which resulted in an additional crash wherein the second vehicle hit a third vehicle head-on.
The boy and grandmother continued on to a campground nearby. The grandmother later said she didn’t realize an accident occurred. Police tracked the two down after accident victims told them about the gun. Two people in the accident were treated at a nearby hospital for minor injuries, say authorities. Some of the vehicles suffered major damage.
In any accident, the at-fault driver bears some liability for damages. In a case such as this one, it could be argued that the grandmother is the driver who is ultimately responsible for the accident due to failing to control the actions of her grandson. Some might also argue that the woman who slammed on her breaks was somewhat responsible. Liability isn’t always cut and dry, which is why legal investigation is essential to personal injury claims.
Source: Mail Online, “Boy, 11, causes three-car rollover accident after holding pellet gun out the window of his grandmother’s car and spooking another motorist” Jul. 13, 2014
