Boy on Scooter Dies as a Result of Car Accident

7-year-old Alberto de Alba was struck and killed in an Orlando parking lot on Sunday.  The boy was playing on a scooter in the parking lot of the Ridge Club Apartments on Oak Ridge Road in Orlando, Florida.  Alberto was taken to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children where he died.  He was not wearing a helmet as reported in the Orlando Sentinel.  The Sentinel also reported that the child darted out in front of Merline Jean at approximately 4:30 p.m.

While this case involves a report that the child darted out in front of the car, one has to view this incident from the entire picture.  It is no secret that children play in parking lots and in their residential streets.  That is what I did as a kid and it is what kids will do for many generations to come.  I fully recognize that Ms. Jean did not intentionally strike Alberto, however, it is not so simple to analyze this as 100% the child's fault.  As I mentioned before children play and if Ms. Jean had been paying attention, then she likely would have seen Alberto playing.  Children are not expected to appreciate the same level of danger of operating a motor vehicle as an adult is.  The child was essentially a pedestrian in this situation.  The law typically favors the affirmative defense that someone darted in front of their vehicle, however, that defense is no so successful when it comes to children because the adult/driver should recognize the presence of the children.  In such situations, the adult driver of a motor vehicle is expected to slow down even if the child is not in the street because a child could easily "dart" out into the street in very little time.  Thus, if the adult driver is not paying attention, then the driver could strike the child.  If you or a loved one has been involved in an automobile accident, please contact a Central Florida personal injury or wrongful death attorney for more information about a consultation of the facts and circumstances of your case.  Each case is different.  Nontheless, you should at least talk to a personal injury or car accident attorney for free.