A boy of has been killed in a hit-and-run incident in Bristol. Police have identified Hannah Saaf as the owner of the vehicle, a white Ford Focus, but have yet to identify whether she was driving the vehicle at the time and are keen to speak to her urgently to help their investigations. The victim was Sam Riddall, aged 11, who was on his way home from church when the incident occurred. According to BBC News, witnesses allege that the vehicle mounted the kerb and drove in to a group of pedestrians, with skid marks on the road giving an indication of how events unfolded. Sam became trapped underneath the vehicle when it went on to the pavement.
In this circumstance it appears that police were able to get some details of the vehicle involved and have some leads to track down the driver of the vehicle, whether it was Ms Saaf or not. But they need further information and are requesting that anyone who witnessed the incident contact them or crime stoppers. This is unfortunately not always the situation.
Hit-and-run accidents can make it difficult to make a claim for compensation as compensation is usually recovered from the insurer of the person at fault in the accident, and if you can’t identify the other person then it becomes difficult to trace their insurer. Always report any accidents of this nature to the police within 14 days of the incident.
However, all is not lost for those who have been the victim of such an accident. The Motor Insurance Bureau (or MIB) look to compensate drivers who have been hit by uninsured or untraceable drivers. The Untraced Drivers’ Agreement, which is an agreement between the government and the motor insurance industry, legally requires the MIB to consider applications for compensation from victims of hit-and-run motorists. If you have been involved in an road traffic accident where it wasn’t your fault then The Injury Lawyers could help you to process your claim.