When the rich and famous get into trouble with the law, it makes the headlines and everyone finds out about it. Being rich and famous, however, will not make things any easier on an accused person — especially if the celebrity accused of a crime caused a fatal drunk driving crash.
Unfortunately, this is precisely what has happened in a recent fatal automobile crash. Police say that a reality television star from the series “Little Women: Atlanta” was operating her vehicle while intoxicated in Virginia Beach last weekend. Apparently, the starlet, Melissa Hancock — who is known for her role as a height-challenged woman in the series — chose to endanger other drivers rather than call a taxi to drive home after drinking Sunday night.
Tragically, she got into a head-on car accident with a 29-year-old man at approximately 2 a.m. on Saturday morning. The collision happened because the woman was driving the wrong way down a one-way street.
Shortly after the collision, emergency responders arrived at the scene to tend to the accident victims. Although they rushed the catastrophically injured man to the hospital, doctors were unable to save him and he was later pronounced dead at the medical facility.
Police also arrived at the scene after the collision and arrested the woman. Hancock will now face charges of DUI/maiming and driving the wrong way down a one-way street. As of last reports, authorities were still holding the woman at the Virginia Beach jail.
Whenever a drunk driver causes the death of another person, surviving close family members of the victim may want to pursue financial damages in court by filing a wrongful death action. If successful, such a lawsuit could be enormously helpful — not only to help family members pay for their financial losses — but also to help bring a sense of closure to those who are suffering from the grieving process.
Source: wavy.com, “Wrong-way driver charged in fatal I-264 crash in Virginia Beach,” Kevin Green, Nov. 08, 2017