Florida Pedestrian Accident Kills One and Injuries Two

Posted by: DFX on Dec 09, 2016

traffic-light-1024768_640A recent pedestrian accident in Pensacola is making it clear that our sidewalks and crosswalks aren’t as safe as we’d like them to be. On November 22nd, three people were crossing a crosswalk when they were struck by a vehicle. One of those pedestrians, Nicholas Murphy, 19 and from Pensacola, was taken to the hospital but died.

Breona Mackoff, 18 years old and recently graduated from high school, was also struck and taken to the hospital. She’s reported as having critical injuries. There was a third person hit, Zachary Meehan, 19 years old, who received only minor injuries. Though he was treated for those injuries, he wasn’t hospitalized.

Some are of course wondering: What about the driver? He’s been identified as Bryant Zachidny. He is 19 years old and also from Pensacola. According to the most updated information, he wasn’t injured and the police don’t believe that alcohol was involved in the accident.

The families of those affected do have options

While a situation like this is not one that anyone wants to find themselves in, at Gilbert & Smallman we want to make sure that families know that they do have options. Pedestrian accidents are no small matter – in fact tens of thousands of Americans are injured as pedestrians every year. The injuries sustained in these types of accidents can have lifelong repercussions and can include blindness, paralysis, post-traumatic stress disorder, and spinal injuries.

If you or someone you love has been injured as a pedestrian then you should call us right away. We can offer you a free consultation. During that consultation, we’ll briefly get the facts about your case and let you know what your options are. We take cases on contingency, which means that if we accept your case, you won’t have to pay us until we recover a settlement for you.

In the event that a loved one died as a result of a pedestrian accident, then you may have a wrongful death case. These are always difficult cases and we understand that this is a difficult time for you. Most cases are settled out of court so you won’t necessarily have to be involved in a long-drawn out process. That said, if your case goes to trial then we will be happy to continue to represent you. It all starts with a simple phone call to Gilbert & Smallman.