Busy Fullerton roads like the Orange Freeway and Chapman Avenue are already dangerous enough with the many careless drivers who travel them each day. The choice to engage in reckless behavior, such as street racing and sideshow activities, only multiplies the risks to innocent drivers and pedestrians.
An illegal street race or dangerous automobile exhibition can affect any motorists nearby and cause serious and even life-threatening injuries. Victims hurt in these illegal contests can wonder where they’ll find help with medical bills and their lost time at work. A skilled Fullerton Street Racing Accident Lawyer assists victims in securing compensation, even in cases where a street racing suspect escapes identification.
Contact Fullerton’s GK Legal for a Free Street Racing Accident Case Consultation
If you or a loved one are hurt by a reckless driver involved in street racing or a sideshow event, please speak with an experienced Fullerton Street Racing Lawyer.
At GK Legal we provide free legal consultations for the victims of any exhibition of speed by another driver. Contact our offices for a free and confidential case review to learn about your options after an accident:
- Learn what your injury is worth.
- Learn what you should demand from a car insurance company.
- Learn how to prevent a car insurance company from trying to wiggle out of taking full responsibility for your recovery costs.
- Learn how you may be able to secure compensation when a street racing suspect commits a hit-and-run after causing a collision and is never located.
This consultation comes with no obligation, but if you decide we can help you secure more for your injury, you won’t need to worry about having the money to hire us. We don’t get paid unless we win your case for you and then our fee comes out of the settlement you receive.
Fullerton Street Racing Dangers
In the past few decades, street racing and sideshow car exhibitions have been a growing problem across California. Drivers can meet on the highway or a Fullerton city street in a pre-arranged racing contest.
Two drivers may challenge each other in an unplanned race to the next stop-light. No matter how they start, illegal drag racing puts lives in jeopardy. These amateur drivers can easily lose control of their vehicles to strike other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.
California has also become a hotbed for “street takeover” events. This is when a group of participants illegally shut down an intersection or a stretch of highway to race or perform stunts. Unsuspecting passers-by might be forced into collisions and suffer traumatic injuries.
Victims and their families will question how they can secure recovery support after a speeding driver causes a devastating accident. A Fullerton car accident attorney fully investigates what happened to you and can help you earn vital support from an at-fault driver’s car insurance company and from your own auto insurer if necessary.
California Street Racing Laws
Drag racing suspects can face weeks of imprisonment and with recent changes in California law, they can now more easily face manslaughter charges in some cases.
A street racing suspect who is charged with a misdemeanor could face up to three months in prison, a $1,000 fine, and could lose the privilege to drive for up to six months.
A street racing charge for a previous offender would receive a mandatory sentence of six months in jail and the loss of a driver’s license for six months. An accident that caused a serious injury could result in misdemeanor or felony charges. A misdemeanor might result in six months in jail, no matter the suspect’s past driving history. A felony charge would bring up to three years in jail and the possibility of $10,000 in fines.
A new law that took effect in 2023, now makes it more likely that street racing suspects will face felony manslaughter charges if they cause a fatal accident. SB 1472 is also known as “Ryan’s Law.” It grants prosecutors the ability to charge a driver with a felony for causing a fatal accident while participating in excessive speeding, sideshows, or street racing.
Who Can Be Held Responsible If I’m Injured in a Street Racing-Involved Accident?
After an injury suffered in an accident caused by a street racing suspect, victims can wonder who they can hold responsible for their massive doctor bills and other hardships.
Unfortunately, street racing accidents can involve additional obstacles for injured victims. They can leave you in desperate need of financial help from a hit-and-run driver or an uninsured driver. However, a Fullerton street racing accident lawyer would help you make sure you received every benefit available under the law no matter the circumstances.
A suspect who is eventually caught would face criminal charges, but this doesn’t delay your right to file an injury claim immediately. Your personal injury claim would be a civil case and could proceed even if a criminal trial has yet to get underway. The two cases are settled separately so that you can receive the support you desperately need from insurance companies sooner.
These are some of the other obstacles that Fullerton street racing accident victims can encounter:
- The At-Fault Driver’s Insurance Provider — When a street racing suspect is apprehended, victims would file an accident claim against the suspect’s car insurance provider. Insurance adjusters use tactics to try to limit the support they must provide. Your attorney would be fighting to maximize your settlement.
- Hit-And-Run Street Racing Suspect – When a street racing suspect flees the scene and escapes identification, victims don’t have to worry. They can still seek full support. They would be calling upon their own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage on their own car insurance policies. A GK Law attorney sometimes has to fight to hold your own car insurance provider accountable. Your own insurer can work against you to try to get you to accept less than you need in support.
- Uninsured Street Racing Suspect Driver – A participant in a sideshow exhibit might turn out to be underinsured or have no insurance at all. In this case, you would also target your own auto insurance, depending on your uninsured motorist coverage for financial help.
- Multiple Street Racing Suspects – More than one reckless driver might have contributed to your accident. Your Fullerton GK Legal Attorney would hold the car insurance companies for every liable driver responsible. The victim and the victim’s family could receive support from several car insurance policies.
What Kind of Compensation Can I Ask for After an Accident Caused by a Street Racer?
The victims of a street racer’s careless acts should demand full compensation for every hardship they face.
This will include not just the hospital bills that arrive, but other non-economic damages that an accident victim and the victim’s family endure.
These and other factors would all contribute to the size of a street racing injury settlement check:
- Hospital and surgery expenses now and in the years to come.
- Physical therapy costs and the cost of medical equipment like wheelchairs and crutches.
- Life-long support for a permanent physical disability suffered.
- Support for the patient’s physical pain endured. This would include the hardships of dealing with chronic pain and arthritis.
- Support for the emotional trauma experienced by injured patients, such as depression and anxiety during a difficult recovery. This includes the PTSD symptoms patients can experience.
- Loss of enjoyment of life. The inability to participate in hobbies and family activities.
- The cost of vehicle repair or replacement.
- Past and future lost income and benefits while missing work hours.
What If a Family Member Is Killed in an Accident Caused by a Street Racer?
Families who tragically lose a loved one in a drag racing or sideshow crash can receive support for the costs that arise all too soon. They should file a wrongful death claim in order to secure assistance in paying for a funeral and burial and any medical bills left unpaid.
Close relatives like a spouse or children of the victims could also seek help to protect themselves from future financial hardships. This would include support for the income the deceased could no longer provide through a weekly paycheck.
A GK Legal Street Racing Accident attorney could file this claim on behalf of the entire family and make sure they had what they needed to rebuild their lives and protect their children in the future.
Contact a Fullerton Street Racing Accident Lawyer
At GK Legal, we’re fully aware of how an automobile accident can change the course of a victim’s life in an instant. When reckless drivers choose to participate in drag racing or in a sideshow exhibition, they knowingly decide to put other motorists and pedestrians in danger. They must be held fully accountable for the consequences.
Contact us as soon as possible to find out how to hold a street racer and the suspect’s car insurance company responsible for what you’ve been through. Our Fullerton street racing accident lawyers offer a free, confidential consultation to all local accident victims. We can handle the stressful parts of an accident claim while giving you the time you need to focus on healing. In the end, you’ll have the compensation you need to recover and restore your life to normal.
