Thursday night a serious car accident happened in Palatka, Florida, at an intersection where a traffic light was out. Palatka is located about one hour south and west of Jacksonville, Florida.
A vehicle traveling north on Mosely Avenue and a vehicle traveling west on St. Johns Avenue collided in a “t-bone” fashion. The vehicle that was t-boned was propelled into a nearby building. A passenger in that vehcle suffered personal injuries and was taken to the hospital.
Where a missing or malfunctioning traffic control device causes a car wreck, the municpality responsible for maintaining the light, whether it be the City of Palatka or Putnam County, may be responsible if it was negligent in maintaining the light. Of course, liability and the potential to recover for personal injuries does little to erase the pain of such injuries. Police advise that when a traffic light is out that all drivers should treat the intersection as a four way stop.