The LAPD caught a freak accident on video, and now the police are trying to discover the responsible driver. The Charlotte Observer reports.
The accident happened in Panorama City yesterday morning. Footage from the @LAPDPIO Twitter feed shows a white pickup truck driving over a loose manhole cover. A man was in the sewer system trying to lift the cover from below at the time. Police believe he was a pedestrian and not a worker for the city sewer system.
The manhole cover flew up into the air and landed into the hole, crushing the pedestrian. The pickup truck did not stop at the scene of the incident, and now police are trying to find the driver for questioning and possible hit-and-run charges.
Manhole covers are extremely heavy. Even the lightest ones weigh around 90 pounds and some weigh more than double that. There’s no question that the weight of the cover combined with the fall could kill someone.
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As for who is most liable in this accident, that’s a difficult question to which we can only offer speculation. Certainly, no driver expects to toss a manhole cover into the air as they’re driving. That’s one reason why they’re so heavy in the first place. However, by failing to stop after the unusual accident, they violated their duty of care as a driver.
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