An auto accident that occurred in the very early hours of the morning involved 4 young people – all of whom died at the scene of the accident and all of whom were not wearing their seat belts, yet were driving at very high speeds. The cause of the accident was a man by the name of Rolando Silva – age 31 who had no other occupants in his vehicle. It was also reported that no alcohol was involved.

Silva lost control of his vehicle and went across the grass median, into a speed limit sign, and then into the vehicle of Joseph Allie Vizcarrondo, 26, who was traveling with 2 other very young passengers: 19-year-old Lauren Phillips of Valrico, and Jenna Kelly, of Sun City Center. Silva had previous criminal charges pending on his record.

There are two things to take into consideration here.

  1. They were all driving at very high speeds
  2. None them were wearing their seat belts

In this situation, you would clearly see that Silva caused the accident considering he lost control of his vehicle. However, keep in mind that if the family members of the the three who were in the “plaintiff vehicle” tried to bring a wrongful death case for each of their loved ones, the defendant’s insurance company could claim that there was “comparative negligence” (which you can read more about in one of our upcoming blog posts) where the plaintiff is partially at fault.

The purpose of this blog is to remind you to, when driving, pay attention to all speed limits and please wear your seat belt. If you would like to learn more about Tampa wrongful death or personal injury cases, you can read any of our blogs for more information.

Steve was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. As was the practice for new doctors his father worked day and night during his medical residency at Charity Hospital there. Steve comes from a long line of doctors. His father, his grandfather, his great grandfather, even two uncles were all specialists and/or surgeons in their chosen medical specialties, including internal medicine specialist, obstetrics / gynecology, neurosurgery and general practice / surgery. His great-great grandfather was the Surgeon General of Ohio during the Civil War.