Georgia Injury Law Blog
Teen Motorist Killed in Cobb County Accident
A teen motorist, who was severely injured in an accident involving the family of gubernatorial candidate Roy Barnes, has died from his injuries.17-year-old Mario Zuniga Junior was being treated at Atlanta Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries.
On Sunday afternoon, Zuniga was driving his Porsche on Old Mountain Road near Marietta, when his car struck a Honda Odyssey being driven by Allison Barnes Salter.Salter is the daughter of gubernatorial candidate Roy Barnes.Her two children were in the car with her.The eldest child, a six-year-old, sustained facial lacerations and a four-year-old girl was seriously injured in the crash.She had to undergo surgery for a broken arm and shoulder.The family had been out running errands at the time of the accident.According to police, the only reason why the children survived the accident was that they were safely restrained in their car.The airbags in the Honda Odyssey also deployed, minimizing the possibility of injuries.
Zuniga himself was severely injured, and had to be extricated from his vehicle.A 16-year-old passenger in Zuniga’s car also sustained non-life-threatening injuries.Last month, Zuniga had been in other trouble, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.He had been arrested after a police officer smelled marijuana in his vehicle at a traffic stop.
This has been a terrible tragedy on so many levels.It is extremely fortunate that the Salter family survived the accident, and hopefully will not have any long-lasting impact from their injuries.This is the kind of accident that should drive home to Atlanta parents the importance of instilling safe driving behaviors in their teenagers.
The Atlanta car accident lawyers at the Katz Personal Injury Lawyers represent injured victims of car accidents in the Atlanta region and across Georgia