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Honey Boo Boo Family's Crash Was Sugar Bear's Fault, Cops Say

By Jenny Tsay, Esq. on January 16, 2014 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

"Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" fans can breathe easy knowing that the reality-TV starlet and her family are in good spirits after a car crash. But now it seems Sugar Bear could be the one responsible for the traffic boo-boo -- not the other driver, as first reported.

Police in Milledgeville, Georgia, have concluded that Sugar Bear, the family's patriarch, made an unsafe left turn when the family's SUV collided with a pickup truck on January 6, reports TMZ.

Although Sugar Bear won't face any criminal charges for his apparent driving blunder, the family's insurance company will have to handle this civil matter.

Determining Fault

Even though police reports now indicate that Sugar Bear was at fault for Honey Boo Boo and her family's car crash, determining fault for insurance purposes is done by insurance companies. Depending on the state where the accident occurred, insurance companies will have to follow that state's negligence laws.

In some states, comparative negligence laws will come into play, allowing parties to split the blame. So if one person is only 40 percent at fault for the accident, then he'll only have to pay for 40 percent of the damages.

Some states have contributory negligence rules that don't allow drivers to recover any compensation if they're even 1 percent at fault. However, the majority of states follow a modified comparative fault rule, including Georgia, where Honey Boo Boo's car crash occurred.

In Georgia, the driver who's not at fault can recover for his injuries as long as his contribution to the accident is less than the other driver's. Also, the injured driver can only recover an amount that's proportional to his contributory negligence.

How Will Insurance Companies Handle the Traffic Boo-Boo?

In Sugar Bear's case, insurance companies will rely on police reports to determine who caused the accident.

Although the family stated in the initial police report that the pickup truck's lights were off, the family now admits that they made a boo-boo and they actually did see the lights.

If that's true, then Sugar Bear's insurance company will likely end up paying the other driver for the amount of damage Sugar Bear caused. For example, if the insurance company finds that Sugar Bear was responsible for 70 percent of the accident and the other driver was responsible for 30 percent, then Sugar Bear's insurance will likely pay for 70 percent of the damages.

Although the car crash shook up Honey Boo Boo and her family, they've all been released from the hospital, according to TMZ.

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