Woman Sues Herself for Causing Fatal Crash

Barbara Bagley thinks Barbara Bagley should be held accountable
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 27, 2015 1:55 PM CST
Woman Sues Herself for Causing Fatal Crash
   (Shutterstock)

This part makes sense: A woman in Utah named Barbara Bagley is suing the driver who caused a car crash that killed her husband. This part is screwy: Bagley herself is that same driver. As the Salt Lake Tribune explains, Bagley is playing dual roles here in the bizarre lawsuit—as the representative of her husband's estate, she is going after the person responsible for his death, which just happens to be herself. Utah's Court of Appeals allowed the suit to proceed earlier this month. The case stems from a one-vehicle accident in 2011 in which Bagley lost control of her vehicle while driving in the desert.

Her husband was fatally injured when it flipped, and Barbara Bagley is now accusing Barbara Bagley of "failing to maintain a proper lookout while driving," reports CBS News. The attorneys for Bagley the driver ("whose interests in the case are represented by her insurance carrier," the Trib notes) argued unsuccessfully that the case should be dismissed. "The jury would be asked to determine how much money will fairly compensate Barbara Bagley for the harm she caused herself," they wrote. "The jury will be highly confused—it cannot order a person to compensate herself." The story has one bright spot: The couple's dog also was in the car, and it ran into the desert after the accident—only to be reunited with Barbara Bagley nearly two months later. (More strange stuff stories.)

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