A utility van and minivan were involved in a wreck on the 3300 block of Fern Valley Road just before 9:00AM Thursday morning. The two-vehicle crash caused the road to be shut down for several hours while officers investigated the wreck.
A nine-year-old girl who was secured in a booster seat in the mini-van was injured in the wreck. She was taken to Kosair Children’s Hospital where she remains in critical condition. Her mother, who was driving the minivan, was taken to University of Louisville hospital where she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the utility van walked across the street to be treated for minor injuries at the immediate care center.
Louisville Metro Police Department spokesperson Alicia Smiley stated that the utility van was pulling out of a parking lot onto Fern Valley Road when it collided with the minivan. The utility van was overturned by the impact.
The details are sparse right now and it is unclear who is at fault for the wreck. If the driver of the utility van failed to operate their vehicle in a safe and reasonable manner under the circumstances, the victims in the minivan could have a negligence claim against the utility driver for physical injuries and property damage.
The investigating police department should be performing a full investigation, including a reconstruction, as a matter of routine in such a wreck. While driver error is always a prime suspect, things like mechanical error and product defects should be considered and ruled out by the investigation.