A Ft. Lauderdale man has been charged with multiple crimes after his involvement in a car accident that killed a bicyclist in Delaware at the beginning of the month. According to the WBOC, Florida resident Brian Meegan was drunk when he merged onto a highway and hit a 44-year-old cyclist from Snow Hill, Maryland. The accident in Rehoboth Beach carried cyclist Russell Henman about 400 feet, where he was pronounced dead at the scene. Meegan is said to have fled the scene but was later apprehended, and it has been reported that he had been charged with DUI just six weeks earlier in the same area.
Meegan allegedly drove with Henman on the hood of his 2003 Jeep Wrangler for 400 feet before hitting a curb and throwing the cyclist onto the road. The driver then fled the scene and stopped in a parking lot where he removed the bicycle from under his vehicle. Meegan has been charged with first-degree vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death, driving under the influence of alcohol, failure to report an accident resulting in injury or death, no proof of motor vehicle insurance, and inattentive driving.
Bicycling is seen by many as a wonderful way to exercise and by still others as an eco-friendly, cheap mode of transportation; but cycling is not without its dangers. Due to the lack of protection that a bicycle provides a rider, cyclists that are involved in an accident are often seriously injured. As shown by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were a total of 618 bicycle-related fatalities in 2010 and an additional 52,000 injured in motor vehicle crashes. In many of these accidents the drivers of vehicles did not see the cyclist or did not exercise caution when operating a vehicle around the bicycle.
Have you or a loved one been involved in a bicycle crash? Have you been struck by a car or other vehicle while riding and sustained injuries? If so, you may be eligible to find legal recourse through a personal injury lawsuit and receive compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. The attorneys at Morgan & Morgan understand the tragic aftermath of a cycling accident, and will work as hard as possible to remedy their client’s situations. Fill out our free case review form today.
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