'Twilight' Fan Killed by Car at Comic-Con
It was a sad end to a Twilight fan's fantasy vacation.
Gisela Gagliardi, a 53-year-old woman from New York, traveled across country to attend Comic-Con in San Diego. On her Twitter account, Gagliardi had been sharing her excitement for over a week, reports the Los Angeles Times. In fact, the woman had been camping out since Sunday to ensure that she could attend a Twilight panel discussion about the upcoming movie.
In her eagerness to preserve her place in line, Gagliardi fell into incoming traffic and was killed. Comic-Con staffers could be held responsible.
Many fans had lined up to attend the panel discussion. At some point, staffers felt the need to reconfigure the line. As the line was rewound near a street, Gagliardi accidentally stepped into the road. Witnesses say that the woman saw the oncoming car and tried to stop. Unfortunately, she ended up falling directly into the car, reports the Times.
A 67-year-old man and his wife were driving the car. Police say that the man did not appear to be at fault as he had a green light. While the driver may not be at fault, Gisela Gagliardi's family may still want to contact a personal injury attorney as they may have a cause of action against Comic-Con.
Generally, when an event draws a large crowd, the event organizers bear some responsibility to keep the crowd safe. By reconfiguring the line, it can be argued that organizers were already taking steps to keep the crowd under control. However, if the efforts at reconfiguration were careless and made visitors even more unsafe, the Comic-Con organizers could conceivably be responsible for the Twilight fan's death.
Related Resources:
- Twilight fan hit by car and killed at Comic-Con (U-T San Diego)
- Comic-Con vigil ends tragically for "Twilight" fan (CBS)
- Wrongful Death Overview (FindLaw)
- Wrongful Death in New York Skydiving Accident? (FindLaw's Injured)