Suspected DUI driver broke his Leg after Hitting a Tree

A suspected drunk driver broke his leg after losing control of his vehicle and crashing into a tree in the center divide of the road.
The alleged DUI car accident happened yesterday morning on Mira Mesa Boulevard near Scranton road in San Diego.

The force of the crash was so great, the engine popped out of the car and landed on the westbound lane of Mira Mesa where another vehicle struck it.

The driver and his passenger were brought to the hospital with the latter complaining about some pain.

After the driver recovers, he can be booked for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

The owner of the first vehicle who got clipped and the car that struck the detached engine may also file a property damage claim against the driver for any repairs needed.

Lastly, if the passenger turns out to have sustained major harm in the accident, he or she can file a personal injury suit as well.

In California, a passenger is generally never held liable for a car accident.
The exception would be if he or she deliberately distracted the driver to cause an accident.

However, if the passenger is not wearing a seatbelt during the collision, it may prove some comparative negligence on his or her part.

If that is the case, the damages awarded will be reduced proportionate to the passenger’s level of liability.

Picking Safe Toys for the Holidays

For children, Christmas is not Christmas, if they don’t receive any toys.

But in its 24th annual Trouble in Toyland report, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) has warned holiday shoppers to avoid dangerous toys, namely those with small parts, make loud sounds, made of soft plastics and have lead contamination.

Aside from toxic toys which contain excessive levels of lead, the PIRG is locking down on toys with small parts that can choke children younger than 3-years-old. According to the PIRG, choking is the number one cause of toy-related deaths and injuries and there are a lot of toys which just barely meet the federal standards on small parts.

A good indicator for potential small parts choking hazard is if a toy can fit into a toilet paper tube then it is too small for children under three.

Two toy hazards the group also focused on are toys which make loud sounds and soft plastic toys which may contain a chemical called phthalates.

The report found that 15 percent of children between 6 and 17 years old showed signs of hearing loss. Phthalates, which is widely used to make plastic products softer and can adversely affect children’s health, was recently found in a child’s lunch bag and a purse.

The Toy Industry Association in response to the report said that, "Consumers have every reason to trust the safety of the three billion toys sold in America each year."

In case you’re working on your Christmas list, the PIRG is advising to check for toy safety at http://toysafety.mobi through your mobile phones before buying gifts for kids.

Who knew that something as seemingly insignificant as a toy can be so dangerous to a child? But indeed, toys today have proven to be both fun and fatal, with most of their defects hidden and latent.

Under the product liability law, manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers may be held liable for manufacturing defects if consumers or children are hurt because of toy errors made in the manufacturing process and those with poor-quality materials or shoddy worksmanship.

While parents have a legal recourse should the toys hurt their kids, it’s always best to put safety first and choose your gifts wisely.

Firefighters Quick in Controlling La Habra Heights Brush Fire

Los Angeles firefighters were able to control a brush fire that had burned uphill in La Habra Heights yesterday evening.

The fire crawled through medium to heavy brush. It scorched about 2 to 3 acres.

Due to the swift actions of our firefighters, further damages have been averted.

Southern California is bracing for the effects of dry and warm conditions that is expected to last until after Thanksgiving.

Due to this dry weather, firefighters are alerted for fires that may start from dry bushes and grass.

Brush fires in California have proven to be a serious threat not only to the environment but the general population as well.

Past brush and forest fires have caused injuries, countless property damages and the displacement of animals and humans alike from their homes.

That is why homeowners who live near dry forests are advised to get comprehensive property and homeowners insurance so that in case of an emergency, all they have to worry about is your lives.

Properties can be replaced, and with your home insured, you do not have to worry about starting from scratch.

You should also consult a property damage lawyer to advise you about making claims so that you are sure that you are getting the right amount from the insurance company.

Less Is More: Female DUI Drivers

The ladies are certainly stealing the spotlight from the men, and this time, it’s not a good thing.

Lately, more and more women and even some notable female celebrities in particular have gotten arrested for driving under the influence.

The most recent female celebrity arrested is 36-year-old Alexandra Kerry, the daughter of a former presidential nominee and United States Senator John Kerry.

Alexandra Kerry, a graduate of the American Film Institute and an award-winning writer-director was pulled over in Los Angeles when she was driving erratically around 12:40 a.m. It was reported that she was placed under arrest after she failed a field sobriety test and was booked in the Hollywood Division station.

She later made bail of $5,000 around 5:30 a.m.

The police, who pulled Kerry over claimed to have detected signs and symptoms of being under the influence of alcohol. Although her blood alcohol level has not been confirmed, according to Richard French, a spokesman for the LAPD, there are people could be under the legal limit and still be impaired. The blood alcohol level is not as important as to how impaired her driving was.

Women have a greater tendency to be easily impaired by alcohol than men. The Hills’ starlet, Stephanie Pratt who was also recently arrested for DUI in Hollywood, is proof that even one drink of alcohol can result to a BAC of .08 and .09 percent.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the effects of alcoholic drinks vary greatly especially between men and women because the rate of absorption and other factors such as weight, amount of fat tissue, and stomach contents.

Thus, often even if they consume the same amount of alcohol, women can get impaired faster. Women, who are now as independent as men, are also catching up with the men in terms of the number of driving under the influence arrests.

For women who drink and drive, even two glasses of beer can mean more trouble. Even if they have less drinks than men, they are more get pulled over for impaired driving, much like Alexandra Kerry, the Senator’s daughter.

Under the law in California, the police can arrest a person on suspicion of drunken driving if officers believe the motorist is impaired.

Pregnant Driver Suspected of DUI Injured by Drunk Driver

This is pretty outrageous news.

In Montebello, a suspected drunk female driver who also happens to be pregnant was involved in a major car crash with another driver who also happens to be drunk.

According to the police, four people were injured in the vehicle collision which occurred at Whittier Boulevard and Concourse Avenue. One person was also reported to have been ejected from the vehicle because of the crash.

The drunk pregnant lady driver and the intoxicated male driver both incurred serious injuries. The man’s arms may be amputated because he suffered major trauma.

The police have said that the crash was triggered by the loss of control by one of the speeding vehicles. Lester Enrique Chupina of Whittier was booked for felony drunken driving and is being held at Montebello Jail for $100,000 bail.

The statistics of women driving under the influence are fast approaching the DUI figures which are usually dominated by men.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in its 2008 study revealed that 1,650 people died in the United States because of an alcohol-impaired female driver.

Further, the NHTSA reported that women arrested for DUI, 35 percent had one or more passengers in the vehicle at the time of the crash. While most of the passengers are male, a substantial percentage of them are child passengers.

The increasing trend of female drunk drivers is indeed a cause for concern. Kids in particular are vulnerable because mothers are often tasked to pick up their children from school and if she’s drunk, a tragic accident will almost surely happen.

Usually, law enforcement officers are more lenient towards female drivers, likewise, most DUI campaigns also target men.

Female drivers should fall under the same degree of scrutiny of male drivers. Drunk driving is a vast and encompassing social problem that affects everyone, whether they are man, woman or a teenager.

House Destroyed by Fallen Crane

Not all injuries are limited to physical harm because property damage may also be involved in the issue. People can greatly suffer if their home or any kind of property is suddenly destroyed due to an outside force.

A home in Santa Rosa was recently destroyed after a large crane toppled backward and fell onto it.

According to authorities, the incident happened while the crane was removing an oak tree at Molly Court and Nightingale Drive. The impact caused the house to be divided in half.

The tree’s weight was more than the crane could carry so it toppled backward and smashed into the house. Its cab portion is still in the air.

The crane was about 90 feet tall and it also has a 25-foot-extension. Authorities are expecting that removing it will take one whole day.

No one was injured in the incident.

Projects like tree removals should be properly planned to avoid disastrous accidents. If the people involved in the project have only known that the tree’s weight is too much for the crane to carry, they may have done necessary actions to correct the situation.

Apple and AT&T Sued over MMS Services

A New York man is suing Cupertino IPhone, IPod, Apple and AT&T for allegedly misleading IPhone buyers.

According to the proposed class action business lawsuit that was filed in federal court in New York, the companies promised buyers multimedia messaging service, or MMS, functionality for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S.

However, according to the complaint, it seems that the buyers will only get what they bargained for in terms of MMS once AT&T upgrades their network

Apple declined to comment while AT&T contends that the carrier actually does offer MMS on its network.

The class action lawsuit would try to gather other consumers that feel they have been misled by Apple and AT&T.

If proven, the members of the class action lawsuit will get a part of the settlement or damages that will be gained from the lawsuit.

Although it is quite a long shot, consumers who feel the same way could join the lawsuit even if they are not sure yet.

There is a statute of limitation that indicates up to when you can file a civil lawsuit against the manufacturers of the product. Once that time lapses, you would have lost a chance.

If you join the lawsuit against apple now and it turned out that the claim is true, then you will have a share of the damages that will be given by the courts.

If you don’t, you may end up outside looking in and wishing that you took the initiative to get the truth.

If the case lost, you would really have lost nothing as attorney fees for these kinds of cases are usually in a no win no fee basis.

SF Police Identifies Hit-And-Run Accident Victim

San Francisco Police has released the identity of the hit-and-run accident victim in the intersection of Alemany Boulevard and Congdon Street.

The victim was identified as Isaac Hudson, 84, of San Francisco.

The 2-car intersection collision occurred just after midnight and witnesses said that 3 men from the 2nd car ran away from the scene.

Hudson, on the other hand, died on his car.

All drivers are required to stop after being involved in an accident. Drivers are also required to provide reasonable assistance to people who are injured on the scene.

If the three people did not run, they could have helped Hudson and who knows, his death could have been averted.

Running away from the scene only aggravates their offense and they will be prosecuted for it.

For the family, if there is no way to identify the driver or owner of the car, they can make a claim under the uninsured motorist coverage of Hudson’s car accident insurance policy.

However, since the suspects may have left the scene by car, the police will have an easier way to identify the car’s owner, which makes the uninsured motorist coverage not applicable (unless the owner really does not have insurance).

Once the police identities the owner, the family can file a wrongful death lawsuit against him to recover damages they sustained for Hudson’s untimely demise.

Additional Complainants in Toyota Defects

Two people from Los Angeles now want to file a class-action suit against Toyota for the defects that prompted the 3.8-million-vehicle recall which is the largest recall of vehicles issued so far.

Seong Bae Choi owned a 2004 Camry while Chris Chan Park had a 2008 FJ Cruiser. Both of them claim that they have experience sudden acceleration which is common in latest models of Toyota vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initially found that the sudden acceleration is caused by the defective floor mats on the driver side as it can be stuck onto the acceleration pedal.

Furthermore, NHTSA also found that the vehicles are hard to put into neutral or turn off if ever the acceleration occurs.

Toyota will compensate for the losses of all victims as they have admitted the risky condition of the vehicles they have manufactured. They are likely to pay punitive damages if a class-action suit will ensue.

A Million Strollers Recalled; Accidents Have Been Reported

Maclaren, one of the leading stroller manufacturers, has recently announced recalls of around a million strollers because of incident reports indicating that the stroller’s hinge has sliced off children’s fingertip.

The recent recall has been because of reports that twelve children had their fingertips cut off because of the hinge of their strollers.

The company apparently saw the potential danger to their customers and so they issued recalls on strollers that were made since 1999.

Other victims of this product liability must immediately seek the help of a personal injury lawyer who will see to it that the pain and suffering of the child, as well as the expenses paid by his parents, will be properly compensated.

Morning Sweeps Target Rail Crossing Violators

As part of the Annual Operation Lifesaver Program, authorities made a sweep throughout Orange County that targeted pedestrians and vehicles who are violating rail-crossing laws.

The sweep netted 233 citations and 6 arrests. Of the 233 citations, 205 were given to motorists while the other 28 went to pedestrians.

This is an annual activity organized by Metrolink in cooperation with various law enforcement agencies.

More than the enforcement of the law, the goal f the program is to educate people about how to legally and safely navigate railroad tracks.

People have been using train tracks as a shortcut to wherever they are going, ignoring the obvious dangers that comes with the action.

What most people do not know is that it is illegal.

In a train track, the right of way always belongs to the train as the tracks are private property.

In essence, people who use the tracks as shortcut are generally trespassing.

If arrested, the person could be charged with a misdemeanor, be fined and even get some jail time.

Coincidentally, while the sweep is ongoing a train non lethal accident occurred in Santa Fe Springs when a pickup stalled while crossing a railroad track.

No one was hurt as witnesses yelled at the driver to get out of the car.

Hopefully this would remind people of the dangers of passing though railroads.

Most often than not, a train will not be able to stop in time to avoid a collision.

That is why it is up to motorists and pedestrians to make sure that they are careful enough when passing though a railroad crossing.

However, if does not remove the responsibility of railroad companies to keep the area safe not only for their trains, but also for motorists and pedestrians.

If the company or any of their employees have been negligent, they could be charged with both criminal and civil lawsuits if someone gets injured on their premises.

Morning Sweeps Target Rail Crossing Violators

As part of the Annual Operation Lifesaver Program, authorities made a sweep throughout Orange County that targeted pedestrians and vehicles who are violating rail-crossing laws.

The sweep netted 233 citations and 6 arrests. Of the 233 citations, 205 were given to motorists while the other 28 went to pedestrians.

This is an annual activity organized by Metrolink in cooperation with various law enforcement agencies.

More than the enforcement of the law, the goal f the program is to educate people about how to legally and safely navigate railroad tracks.

People have been using train tracks as a shortcut to wherever they are going, ignoring the obvious dangers that comes with the action.

What most people do not know is that it is illegal.

In a train track, the right of way always belongs to the train as the tracks are private property.

In essence, people who use the tracks as shortcut are generally trespassing.

If arrested, the person could be charged with a misdemeanor, be fined and even get some jail time.

Coincidentally, while the sweep is ongoing a train non lethal accident occurred in Santa Fe Springs when a pickup stalled while crossing a railroad track.

No one was hurt as witnesses yelled at the driver to get out of the car.

Hopefully this would remind people of the dangers of passing though railroads.

Most often than not, a train will not be able to stop in time to avoid a collision.

That is why it is up to motorists and pedestrians to make sure that they are careful enough when passing though a railroad crossing.

However, if does not remove the responsibility of railroad companies to keep the area safe not only for their trains, but also for motorists and pedestrians.

If the company or any of their employees have been negligent, they could be charged with both criminal and civil lawsuits if someone gets injured on their premises.

Dangerous Intersection caused Deep Concern

Crossing the street is dangerous especially for children. But when a child accompanied by an adult cross at a designated crosswalk and still hit by a vehicle, then it becomes more alarming.

Concerned parents near the Campbell's Bucknall area showed their alarm when a young boy and his grandfather were hit by a Ford Explorer at an intersection.

The accident caused a signature campaign to be launched urging officials to do something about a very dangerous intersection near Harriet Avenue. Several residents and parents ignited grave concern not only for the victims but also for their children attending school situated few blocks from the intersection.

The authorities have been bombarded with complaints for years about the safety of the intersection. The residents asked for a crossing guard at the crosswalk. Forest Hill Principal Lani Potts showed support by working with the city and inviting city leaders to join community forum and meetings regarding the issue.

In response, the city officials were planning to make pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements at the intersection and install radar speed sign.

Accidents can happen anywhere at a time when you least expect it. When it does, the victim has cause of action against the party at fault. A personal injury lawyer can help him pursue a case for compensation claims.

Toyota Welcomes Federal Report That Floor Mats Are Sole Cause of Sudden Acceleration

Toyota and some safety experts are at odds in interpreting the new federal report that found that the sole cause of sudden acceleration incidents in their cars are the removable floor mats and that no other defects have been discovered.

Toyota welcomed the report which coincides with the floor mat recall letters that the car manufacturing giant had sent to owners of certain Toyota and Lexus models.

The company has been busy trying to do damage control especially after the Santee car accident that killed a CHP officer together with his family.

The company does not need any more investigations for other probable safety defect that could further damage their reputation.

They are happy that the NHTSA found no other defects and can now move on from the “floor mat” incidences.

However, safety experts disagree that the report gives Toyota a clean bill of health, when they claim that it is not the case.

They say that the investigation was focused on narrow issues and may have not discovered other possible safety defects.

The investigation, they said, did not explain sudden accelerations that were not caused by floor mats.

In any case, the floor mat issue is probably on its last legs and Toyota would probably settle with the victims that filed or plans to file for personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits under the product liability law.

Toyota did share some tips that we can use in case of sudden acceleration; so in case it happens to us, we can follow these guides:

• Pull over and dislodge floor mat.
• If not possible to pull over, step on brakes with both feet and do not pump the pedal.
• Shift the gear to neutral.
• If not possible, turn engine off or to the ACC.
• Do not remove key as it may lock the steering wheel

If you are injured because of the sudden acceleration of your car, get yourself treated by a doctor and consult a car accident attorney as soon as possible.

Jaguar Driver Charged with Vehicular Manslaugter after Causing Fatal Car Accident

Pamela Mckeirnan described in court yesterday how a speeding jaguar hit her car and then spun into the Volvo behind her that was carrying her daughter and grand daughter on State Route 67.

Her daughter Alexandria was killed but miraculously, her 4 month old grand daughter survived March 2009 crash.

The driver of the Jaguar, Melvin Leroy Pearles, 48, will be charged with vehicular manslaughter and is now in custody with bail set at $75,000.

If convicted, he may face up to 6 years in prison.

The judge said that Pearles showed extreme callousness and impatience on a very dangerous road and he is suspected to be involved in some form of speed contest.

According a testimony given to CHP by Pearles, he was speeding because he had to go to the bathroom and he feared being hit by a white BMW that eventually passed him.

However a witness said that he can’t believe how fast the Jaguar was going and he remembers it trying to pass a white car, which was later identified as a BMW.

The witness said his car was run off the road and the next he saw was the wreck of the Volvo.

Deputy Public Defender Dawn Beebee said the accident was tragic but it did not rise to the level of negligence.

Pearles’ answer to a police officer when asked if he knew he was driving at 80-100 mph did not help him as well. He told police that it was possible because he was driving a jaguar and “doesn’t drive 55.”

That would have come off not only as arrogant but also as admission that he was speeding.

The speed limit for Route 67 is 55 mph; he just admitted that he doesn’t drive 55.

His offense can automatically be raised from speeding to reckless driving if it is true that he is driving at least 80 mph and if he was involved in a speed contest.

Since his reckless driving resulted to death, the prosecutors have all the reasons to charge him with vehicle manslaughter.

Aside from that, the family can also file a wrongful death suit for his civil liability.