_____________________________________________________ You don't understand this? Trust me, it's not very complex. Civilly if the driver is found at fault, criminally if the driver was at the time, driving reckless, drunk et al...
No, you are way off base legally.
There are totally different standards of proof for civil and criminal cases. That's why they are pressing for a criminal prosecution. If the state can convict him, the civil case is a lay down winner. Winning the civil case doesn't help at all in the criminal case, however.