Was Driver's Seizure History Related to Deadly Tampa Car Accident?

In a recent blog I talked about a car accident that killed a Tampa couple. It was reported that the driver responsible for the collision, Eric McNeil, lost consciousness and therefore, lost control of his vehicle. Police are now investigating whether or not the driver actually had a seizure, causing him to run a red lightand cause a t-bone accident.

According to the driver's sister, McNeil has suffered from occasional seizures for years. As a result, it appears the state driving authorities were monitoring McNeil’s medical condition for three years from 2007 to 2010. In fact, this same issue led to his license being temporarily revoked in 2008. Tampa Bay.com reports if McNeil did suffer a seizure, prosecutors will ask two questions. First, was McNeil aware of his medical issue? Second, was a seizure-caused crash foreseeable?

Seizure-caused crashes have occurred in the past with differing outcomes. In 2009, Kyle Figler suffered a seizure and killed a pedestrian. In 2002, Emilio Santacruz had a seizure and drove into a building, killing a real estate agent. Figler was not charged as he had no history of seizures and had never been told not to drive. Santacruz was convicted of vehicular manslaughter and spent six months in jail and had fourteen years of probation as he had a documented history of seizures and a doctor specifically told him not to drive.

The investigation into the deadly car accident is still ongoing as police search for the truth.