There was a terrible accident in Aspen Hill, Maryland which is in Montgomery County near our law office in Silver Spring. Ms. Cristina L. Dodd who is from Silver Spring, MD, was walking with her 13 year old daughter Natalia Jallorina of Rockville, Maryland.
The two ladies were struck as pedestrians as they were crossing the street at Bel Pre Road at Connecticut Avenue. The vehicle that struck them fled the scene of the accident. Ms. Dodd and Ms. Jallorina were taken to the hospital for treatment of their injuries from the DC car accident. Ms. Dodd was taken to Suburban Hospital, a trauma facility, in Bethesda, Maryland. Mr. Jallorina was taken to Children’s Hospital in Washington, D.C.
The police later recovered a Ford Mustang that they believe was involved in the accident. If you know anything about the person driving the Mustang and/or who caused this crash, you should call the Montgomery County Police and provide them with the information. We certainly hope that Ms. Jallorina and her daughter recover from their injuries, and our thoughts and prayers are with them and their family.
If they intend to bring a civil lawsuit regarding this incident, they should strongly consider hiring an experienced Silver Spring personal injury attorney now so that the attorney can do a proper fact investigation and help locate the phantom driver. Most car accident attorneys in Silver Spring would take this case on a contingent fee basis which means that there would be no attorney fee if there is no recovery. In other words, it would not cost the injured people anything to have legal representation until the case resolves with either a financial settlement or a jury verdict resulting in payment (think of it as risk free representation).
The pedestrians obviously have a negligence claim against the driver who struck them. They also may have a valid claim for uninsured motorist benefits (known as UM benefits) against any automobile insurance policies that they have or that their family members have. Ms. Jallorina and her daughter obviously were terribly injured in this crash and they are going to have substantial medical bills and other expenses and damages related to their injuries.
Hopefully the negligent driver responsible for this terrible incident will be located, arrested and brought to justice