[07-30-2022] Kern County, CA-11-year-old Critically Injured after being Struck by Hit-and-Run Vehicle in NW Bakersfield

According to police, an 11-year-old girl was struck and critically injured by an alleged hit-and-run driver on Saturday night, July 30, 2022.

According to police, the girl was struck while crossing a street with her mother and sibling in northwest Bakersfield. The vehicle and driver involved in the collision were found in a nearby neighborhood. Dhanjibhai P., 79, was arrested and identified by police as the alleged driver.

According to the police, the girl, her mother, and her 4-year-old sibling were crossing Brimhall Road outside a crosswalk when the 11-year-old was hit.

Following the collision, a suspect vehicle was described as a small black SUV with front-end damage seen heading westbound on Brimhall Road.

Officials said in a statement that the vehicle and Patel were discovered about a half-hour later near Brimhall and Old Farm roads. According to a police statement, Patel was later arrested for felony hit-and-run.

According to police, neither drugs nor alcohol nor speed appeared to be factored in the collision. The investigation is still going on.

Anyone with information about the crash should contact Bakersfield police at 661-327-7111.

FATAL HIT-AND-RUN CRASH STATISTICS

Leaving the scene of an accident is a crime in and of itself. Unfortunately, hit-and-run accidents continue to occur on US highways. Every minute, a hit-and-run accident occurs in the United States.

In 2016, there were 2,049 hit-and-run fatalities in the United States. Every year, approximately 682,000 hit-and-run incidents occur in the United States. Walking people are frequently injured in hit-and-run accidents.

More than 5% of traffic fatalities were caused by drivers who hit people and then drove away. The average annual increase in hit-and-run incidents is 7.2 percent. Twenty percent of pedestrian deaths were caused by cars striking victims and reversing away.

According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, hit-and-run accidents reached an all-time high in California in 2016. (This is the most recent year for which data is available.) Three hundred thirty-seven people were killed in hit-and-run accidents in 2016. There has been a 60 percent increase over the previous ten years.

Drivers leave the scene of an accident for a variety of reasons. They could be drug addicts, have run-ins with the law, be uninsured, or be here illegally, among other things.

KERN COUNTY FATAL HIT-AND-RUN ACCIDENT LAWYERS

Failure to stop and wait for the police to arrive constitutes a crime or a serious infraction.

The situation becomes even more difficult if the other driver does not pause, admit fault, or offer assistance. Many victims of hit-and-run accidents are unaware that even if the at-fault driver flees, they may still be entitled to financial compensation for their medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

The sooner you speak with a skilled hit-and-run accident lawyer, the better your chances of recovering compensation for your injuries or the loss of a loved one.

The Our Kern County hit-and-run accident lawyers at Arash Law have extensive experience defending people who have been injured or killed while walking on the road. In these circumstances, we are familiar with the relevant legal requirements.

To obtain the best settlement or jury verdict for our clients, our attorneys spend significant time getting to know them and their issues. If you were injured in a hit-and-run, contact a lawyer at (888) 488-1391.