It is no secret that Allan W. Fung is running for governor of Rhode Island. What used to be a secret, however, is that Fung was involved in a fatal pedestrian accident back in 1989. As a result of the accident, Fung was charged with driving to endanger resulting in death. Eventually the charges were dismissed and the records sealed.

He is apparently going public with the story now because it will come out during the gubernatorial race. Some interest in unsealing the court records has been raised. Fung has indicated that he does not want the records unsealed and will not take steps to make that happen himself. However, he did release a narrative he wrote about the incident on his bar application back in 1995.

At the time of the crash, Fung was 18 years old. According to his statement in the application, he was heading home from college for the weekend when he lost consciousness behind the wheel. At the same time, a motorist was also traveling on Route 95, and was struck while changing a flat tire.

Fung hit both the man and his vehicle. Regrettably, the man died from the injuries he suffered. In this case, the family of the victim and Fung settled the civil side of the court proceedings for $112,000.

The family in this case made the choice to settle their legal issues with Fung outside of the courtroom. However, when a family loses a loved one in a pedestrian accident, Rhode Island law does give that family the right to file a wrongful death claim. If the family can prove that the driver deemed responsible for their loved one's death was negligent, the court may award the family the damages incurred as a result of their loss.

Source: ABC News, Cranston Mayor Fung releases bar application that describes fatal accident, Randal Edgar, Jan. 28, 2014