The Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Department has reached a settlement in a wrongful death suit the family of a teen victim filed. The girl, from Pasadena, was killed at the department’s annual carnival in 2011. The family’s lawyer announced the settlement on the same day the lawsuit was scheduled to go to trial, although the specific financial terms were not released.

The accident occurred on the evening of July 12, 2011. The girl and several of her friends were going to park at a shopping center near Magothy Bridge Road and Ritchie Highway in Severna Park, and then cross the highway to get to the fair grounds. When she and her boyfriend began to walk across the highway, a sedan struck them. While her boyfriend survived, the girl did not.

Family claims negligence was a factor

The girl’s family alleged that the department did not take proper steps to control traffic around the event site. They claim the fire department should have known people who were attending the carnival would cross the street, yet failed to take any initiative to control traffic in the area to assist the higher volume of pedestrians there to attend the carnival.

There were no signs or crosswalks where the teenagers attempted to cross the street, but approximately eight months after the girl’s death, the state installed a crosswalk at that exact site.

If you believe that another person or entity was responsible for the death of your loved one, you may have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit to recover damages and to hold the negligent parties accountable. Contact an experienced La Plata personal injury attorney at Mudd, Mudd & Fitzgerald, P.A. for more information on your options.