Jorge Avalos Dead, Larry Kuykendall, 2 Minors Hurt in Little Rock, AR, Accident
Little Rock, AR -- January 24, 2017, Jorge Avalos was killed and Larry Kuykendall and two minors were injured following a rear-end accident.
The Arkansas State Police released a preliminary accident report regarding the fatal accident. They say it occurred around 3:30 p.m. along I-30 just west of the I-530/I-440 interchange.
According to the police report, 18-year-old Avalos was parked on the left shoulder of westbound traffic lanes on I-30. He had a 16-year-old and a 14-year-old passenger with him in a Nissan Titan pickup. As they were on the shoulder of the hgihway, a Chevy Silverado driven by 42-year-old Kuykendall somehow went onto the shoulder and crashed into the back of the Nissan.
Following the collision, All four people involved were injured. Avalos died as a result of his injuries. The two minors as well as Kuykendall were taken to UAMS for treatment of unspecified injuries.
At this time, no factors have been mentioned by police investigators. They did not report any charges or citations following the accident.
Investigations are currently ongoing.
Map of the Area
Commentary
Whenever an accident happens on the shoulder of the highway, investigations have to be thorough in order to ultimately decide whether a driver crossed out of traffic lanes or if the other vehicle was protruding into traffic lanes. Police reports are typically a good summary of an accident, but I've seen them make mistakes plenty of times in the past. This isn't necessarily to say that this police report is wrong, but it's a good reason to consider a 3rd Party Investigation.
In the past, our firm has come across more than a few accidents just like this one where a vehicle runs into the back of another on parked on the shoulder. Most of the time, reports say that the parked vehicle was hit by the driving vehicle. Sometimes this ends up being false, and the other driver was actually sticking out into traffic lanes. Initial police reports rarely update their information, so anyone looking up info on the crash may be misled into believing inaccurate information.
That being said, most of the accidents happen exactly like this report says: a vehicle crosses onto the shoulder and rear-ends a parked vehicle. Most of the time, this happens at night or when one of the driver is suffering from exhaustion or intoxication of some sort. That being said, there are many factors which can ultimately cause this kind of accident. Police reports rarely cover all of these, so details can often fall through the cracks. Due to this, a police report is rarely enough to determine liability after an accident.
Most people see details like the ones in this crash and think it's a straight-forward, open-and-shut case for the ones who were rear-ended. Insurance companies, however, don't see it that way. Just like any experienced car accident attorney, they know police reports aren't entirely convincing, so they will try to avoid paying victims the compensation they deserve. Only by showing these companies irrefutable evidence can somebody ensure that they will get the compensation that they deserve. With only a police report, insurance companies have opportunities to shift blame or simply try to avoid liability entirely.
No matter what the accident--rear-end, head-on, pedestrian, 18-wheeler, etc.--the best strategy is to ensure that a thorough, independent investigation is done. If any details were missed by police, then they will be found. If the police were correct in their investigations, then the necessary evidence will be preserved and available to present to stubborn insurance companies. Only with a case built on tangible evidence can victims and their families get the compensation they deserve and move forward on the road to recovery.
--Grossman Law Offices
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