Police Investigate Chesapeake Traffic Death of Norfolk assistant principal Ladawn Durant

We were saddened to read about the death of Norfolk assistant principal Ladawn Durant in Chesapeake this weekend.

The 44-year-old assistant principal at Norview Middle School was the passenger of a car that was hit on Taylor Road in Chesapeake on Sunday.

A report on WAVY.com described the teacher as “a consummate professional.” Our thoughts are with her family after this tragic accident.

Chesapeake police said Ladawn Durant was the passenger in a car that was hit just before 10:45 p.m. Sunday on Taylor Road at Taylor Court in Western Branch. The educator died a short time later at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

The police report said Durant was in a Chrysler 300 when the driver tried to turn left onto Taylor Court. During the maneuver, another vehicle traveling west on Taylor Road struck the passenger side.

The crash remains under investigation. Our thoughts are with the family of this popular and talented educator at a tragic time.

In the WAVY report, Durant’s husband Michael described her as “amazing, fun, funny, very intelligent, caring and passionate about children.”

Left-hand turns are one of the most hazardous maneuvers that drivers make. In some cases, drivers may be aided by traffic lights but there is no light on Taylor Road if you are turning into a street like Taylor Court or Dunedin Drive.

Taylor Road is a fast-moving highway in a residential part of Chesapeake. Making turns on this highway may be extremely hazardous.

Left turn accidents occur in Chesapeake and elsewhere when a driver cuts across oncoming traffic without having a clear right of way. In some cases, the at-fault driver is turning on a green light but only has the right of way on a green arrow. The driver who is turning across the traffic must yield right of way.

In these crashes, an injury victim often drives into a car that fails to yield but is not at fault. Motorcyclists are especially vulnerable to serious injuries and death and drivers making turns habitually fail to see them.

Passengers may also be vulnerable in these kinds of wrecks. Cars have less side protection than at the front and the rear and side impact collisions are often serious or even deadly.

Passengers are seldom to blame for a car accident. If you are injured you may have grounds to file a personal injury lawsuit against the driver of the vehicle you were traveling in or another driver.

The relatives of a deceased passenger may have valid grounds to file a wrongful death lawsuit against one or more drivers who is responsible for a deadly wreck.

Please call Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers today for a free and confidential consultation at (757) 455-0077.