There are times when the careless or negligent acts on the part of one person result in the death of another. But what may have seemed to be reckless behavior is sometimes found be the result of unavoidable circumstances that led to the injurious incident. The recent deaths of two Tennessee men in a car wreck in Franklin are alleged to have been caused by the driver of the vehicle and have resulted in charges of vehicular homicide being filed against him.

According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the crash occurred at 4:45 a.m. on a road near the downtown area of Franklin. THP officials say that the driver was speeding when his car entered a ditch and hit a stand of trees after running off of the right side of the road. The passengers, 24-year-old and 26-year-old male residents of Franklin, were killed. The driver, a 31-year-old man also a resident of Franklin, was uninjured.

The vehicle was traveling southbound when it left the roadway. A local resident on the scene reported finding the driver slumped over and one passenger deceased. A police officer was able to break the driver’s side window and extract the driver.

Vehicular homicide is charged when officials deem that the death of a person other than the driver is the result of criminally murderous or negligent operation of the vehicle. But charges alone do not equate guilt, and anyone accused of a criminal offense is allowed to retain legal representation to defend against those charges. A defense attorney can work to ensure that the rights of the accused are upheld, that the presumption of innocence is fully honored and that the best possible defense is developed in order to reach the best possible outcome for the client.

Source: Franklin, TN Patch, “Franklin Man Charged in Fatal Carters Creek Pike Crash“, J.R. Lind, Feb. 6, 2017