Massachusetts personal injury lawers news service. Barnstable County resident backs into spouse at Dennis Yacht Club.
Dennis, MA –On Sunday, July 5, 2009, at 8:15 p.m., 92-year-old John Weldon of Reading, was backing out of a parking space at the West Dennis Yacht Club, when he knocked his wife to the ground with his automobile. His wife, eighty-three year-old Muriel Weldon, was transported to Cape Cod Hospital where she died later that night from her traumatic injuries. According to witnesses, Muriel Weldon was directing her husband, as he backed between two cars, when he suddenly accelerated and knocked her to the ground. A bystander was performing cardiopulmonary rescusitation (CPR) on Mrs. Weldon, when Cape Cod area police officers arrived. Dennis police officials reported the accident was under investigation and Weldon was not charged. However, Weldon’s license was revoked by the RMV at the request by the Dennis Police Department.
According to the Boston Herald, Weldon had three previous accidents and a speeding violation during his senior years. Each of the previous accidents were surchargeable accidents, where the driver is found to be more than 50 percent at fault and caused more than $1,000 in damages. Weldon’s first accident was in March 1991, in Chelsea; the second in August 1997, in Yarmouth; and the third in March 2008, in Woburn.
Elderly drivers in Massachusetts have been under scrutiny following many deadly automobile accidents and motoring mishaps in the past month. This fatal Cape Cod motor vehicle accident is at least the seventh serious incident in Massachusetts involving elderly drivers. These automobile accidents have caused lawmakers to tighten restrictions on senior drivers. One example requires those over the age of 85 to pass a road and eye test every five years before their driver’s license is renewed.
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