Many accidents that occur nationwide, including in Tennessee, present difficult questions about which driver was primarily at fault. That appears to be the kind of question that is being raised regarding a recent car crash in South Nashville that reportedly involved a speeding Lamborghini and a Nissan Altima that failed to yield the right of way. The accident occurred on Nolensville Pike where the red Lamborghini was heading in a southerly direction just before the collision.
Apparently, the Nissan made a turn in front of the Lamborghini, which caused the crash that killed the Nissan driver. The police officially declared that their preliminary investigation indicated that the Nissan “failed to yield” to the rented Lamborghini. Although police emphasized the Nissan’s intrusion into the right of way, media reports stressed the extreme speed of the Lamborghini, which one witness said was going more than 100 mph.
A television news channel reported having video showing the excessive speed of the Lamborghini just prior to the collision. The news station also presented other witness statements about the fast speed of the vehicle. However, the general rule is that the speed of a car that has the right of way generally does not excuse or override the primary causative negligence of a vehicle that fails to yield that right of way.
Nonetheless, the several reports of the excessive speed of the sports vehicle led an officer at the scene of the car crash to admit that speed could alter the finding regarding which car was primarily at fault. The officer indicated that the final report would be based on taking evidence from the scene and reconstructing how the accident occurred. Under the negligence law of Tennessee and other jurisdictions, there is usually an exception to most general rules. It is possible that the speed of the sports car was so excessive that the Nissan driver could not reasonably determine how quickly the car would arrive at the point of impact.
Source: newschannel5.com, “Lamborghini Involved In Fatal South Nashville Crash”, April 4, 2016
