Chapter 210 Hit and Killed the Child?
Grace said, "Alexander, please don't be angry. They're upset with me because I didn't take proper care of Liam, and in this matter, the responsibility is indeed mine. I only came to see how badly Liam was injured. If you don't want to see me, then I'll leave."
She still needed to go to the police station to handle the accident report.
Just as Grace walked out of the hospital room, Alexander followed, "Where are you going?"
Grace replied, "The traffic officer called me. I need to go handle some accident paperwork."
Alexander said, "I'll drive you there."
Grace said, "It's fine, you should stay here with Liam."
Alexander looked at Grace's pale, bloodless face and frowned, feeling somewhat regretful.
His tone with her earlier had indeed been harsh.
Now that Liam was out of danger, he realized the words he'd spoken to her had been too severe.
Alexander opened his mouth, but the words of explanation stuck in his throat.
Seeing his tense expression, Grace thought he was still angry, so she said, "Alexander, after something like this happens, I need to clear my head too. Don't worry, I'll handle this properly. Once I'm done, I'll go home to talk to Max, then come back to the hospital to take care of Liam."
Alexander nodded, "Alright."
Grace added, "By the way, Lily was just transferred to the ICU. If... if you're willing, while I'm not at the hospital, could you help me keep an eye on Lily? She's not completely out of danger yet."
"Yes, I understand."
Only then did Grace leave with peace of mind.
Outside the hospital, Grace took a taxi directly to the traffic police station.
The driver who caused the accident was still at the station. When he saw Grace arrive, he stood up excitedly, wanting to speak but hesitating, yet somewhat evasive.
The accident liability had not been determined yet.
He had originally been confident that even if he was found fully at fault for the accident, his car had third-party liability insurance, so even if something terrible happened to both children, $100,000 would be enough compensation.
But at the hospital, the traffic officer told him his insurance had expired, making his vehicle illegal to drive.
That's when he panicked.
This car belonged to his father, and he had no idea the insurance had expired—even the mandatory coverage had lapsed. According to traffic laws, not only was he driving illegally, but he was fully responsible for the accident, and because insurance wouldn't cover it, all the medical bills for the two injured children, or even death benefits, would come out of his own pocket! How could this be happening?!
He remembered those two kids were seriously injured, covered in blood when they were hit. What if they died?
The driver wanted to ask whether the two children were dead or alive, but didn't know how to bring it up. Seeing Grace's deathly pale complexion, his heart pounded even harder. Looking at her ashen face, he assumed the children had been killed, making him even more restless.
Especially since the traffic officer had just told him that if the children died, he might face criminal charges!
This was a complete disaster!
Grace didn't even glance at the driver. She first went to give her statement, and two hours later, when she finished and came out, the driver's family had all arrived.
At first glance, there were over ten people crowding the front lobby.
Everyone looked indignant.
A middle-aged woman said, "Why should my son take full responsibility?! Didn't you hear what he said? Those two kids suddenly ran out, and besides, my son didn't run a red light—he had a green light! How did he break the law?"
Traffic Officer said, "That was a crosswalk. He didn't slow down, so he was the primary cause of this accident."
Woman retorted, "What about those two kids jaywalking?"
Traffic Officer said, "Even if pedestrians jaywalk, drivers are supposed to slow down when crossing a crosswalk."
Woman said, "Those two kids have no parents watching them? Is this whole street theirs to run around on? How were their parents supervising them, letting kids run wild in traffic? Even if you're assigning blame, it can't be all our fault!"
Traffic Officer replied, "Your son was driving with expired insurance, which is already illegal. Failing to slow down and yield at a crosswalk is also a violation!"
The two sides argued heatedly.
Grace walked over and said to the officer, "Officer, I've finished giving my statement. May I leave now?"
The woman noticed Grace and asked, "Is this the children's guardian?"
Grace nodded, "Yes."
The woman suddenly rushed over and grabbed Grace's hand, not letting her leave, "You can't go! You can't leave yet! What's your relationship with these cops? Why are they protecting you? Do you have some kind of connection?"
Grace was baffled, "What are you talking about?"
The woman said, "Then why else would they assign full blame to my son? Isn't this abuse of power?"
Grace frowned and glanced at the driver—a grown man cowering behind this woman, looking timid with panicked eyes.
Grace said, "Your son was the one driving the car, not you. You're not the responsible party. Besides, it was my two children who got hit by a car, not your family members. Why are you harassing me?"
The woman replied, "Now the traffic police are assigning accident responsibility, saying my son is fully at fault! Is this ruling reasonable? How is my son fully responsible? You're the children's guardian—you didn't watch them properly, so you should be fully responsible!"
The man suddenly shouted excitedly, "Running into this situation, I'm totally wronged! I clearly saw no one on the crosswalk because the pedestrian signal was red and the traffic light was green. I was driving normally—why am I being found fully at fault?"
Grace said, "My son is well-behaved. He wouldn't run into traffic for no reason."
The man said, "The traffic police have already gone to pull the surveillance footage. Once they get it, you'll believe what I'm saying."
Grace looked at the traffic officer and asked, "Is there surveillance on that road?"
Traffic Officer said, "We've already requested it. Do you want to wait here, or do you need to get back to the hospital urgently?"
Grace said, "I'll wait here and see." She also wanted to know how Liam and Lily had been hit.
Time passed minute by minute.
Soon, an assistant officer returned from the traffic monitoring center with a copied surveillance video, "Captain, I've copied the surveillance from the accident intersection."
The traffic police captain plugged the USB drive into the computer and loaded the video.
Grace walked over to take a look.
The video captured one hour before and after the incident.
On the street, traffic flowed back and forth, and at the traffic light intersection, pedestrians crossed in an orderly manner.
The surveillance camera faced the road, so from this angle, you couldn't see what was happening on the sidewalk.
Suddenly...
Liam stumbled and fell into the middle of the road, with Lily right behind him. She reached out and grabbed Liam's hand.
Immediately after, the vehicle struck both children hard, sending them flying.
The accident happened so fast that when played at normal speed, Grace couldn't make out what had really happened.
The driver pointed excitedly at the screen, "See that? Those two kids suddenly ran out! I didn't have time to brake."
Grace said, "Do not you think you were driving too fast?"