Accidents can happen at any moment, even when you do everything right: wear your seatbelt, go the speed limit, properly signal your turns and follow every other law of the road. The driving habits of others you share the road with are unpredictable. A car may be driving just as it should but all of a sudden swerve.

Judging the actions of another driver becomes nearly impossible in certain conditions such as the ones surrounding a serious car accident this week on the Garden State Parkway. The accident was caused by an elderly driver who failed to turn on his headlights during the darkest hours of the night.

At approximately 2:45 a.m. on Sunday, March 4, 2012, a 48-year-old man was driving a vehicle with three passengers in southern New Jersey. When the small car neared Exit 67 on the Garden State Parkway, it collided with a pickup truck that unexpectedly crossed into the center lane.

The small car was pushed into the guardrail causing arm, leg and chest injuries to the four victims in the car. The 87-year-old driver of the pickup was ejected from his vehicle during the collision. He was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency responders.

In many occasions, the driver who causes a crash is also injured by their own negligence; in some cases, the negligent driver may be killed in the accident. The death of a negligent party does not prevent victims or their families from seeking compensation from the offending party’s estate.

Source: philly.com, “1 killed, 4 hurt in Parkway crash in southern NJ,” March 4, 2012