Centralia Crash Leaves Two Dead

Mark McLean

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Two people died following a car crash near Centralia last week. Apparently, the driver was speeding, left the roadway and hit a tree, killing both himself and a passenger.

The driver of a 1990 Honda Civic, Gabriel S. Escamilla, 35, of Centralia, and passenger Candace M. Leyva, 21, were headed eastbound on Seminary Hill Road about 9:50 p.m. when the car left the roadway at Grimes Road and hit a tree. Both died at the scene.

When a passenger is injured or dies in an accident that was caused by the driver, the passenger (or her family) can pursue a claim against the driver. The claim will probably be covered under both the driver's liability insurance policy as well as the passenger's own "UIM" (under-insured motorist) insurance policy (if the driver's policy is not sufficient to cover the damages). Even if the driver has limited personal assets, the claim is still very much worth pursuing due to coverage under multiple insurance policies.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.