You’ve heard the expression many times before: speed kills. Some people rationalize driving too fast by saying that they never do it in heavy traffic. Others argue that it’s their decision to assume the risk of speeding and claim that they aren’t hurting anyone else.

Both of those justifications were proven wrong yesterday morning on a dark stretch of Interstate 15.

Just after 12:45am, a BMW sedan was reportedly traveling at a high rate of speed on the southbound side of the interstate. According to witnesses, the car was in the left lane when the driver lost control before Spring Mountain Road near Fashion Show Mall. The vehicle swerved right, fishtailed, and then careened into the highway’s center median; where it slammed into a parked flatbed truck operated by Las Vegas Paving. The driver of the BMW was taken to University Medical Center, but the female passenger in the car died on impact. No one was in the work truck at the time of the auto accident.

The identities of both occupants of the BMW have not yet been released, so we don’t know if the man and woman were related. If they were not, the surviving relatives of the woman probably have a solid case for a wrongful death lawsuit against the male driver. That’s because Nevada law calls for drivers to bear responsibility for the safety of their passengers.

The driver may be ordered by a court to pay for any future wages which would have been earned by the woman. He may also be told to pay damages to the family for emotional distress or loss of care.