19-Vehicle Pileup Closes Southbound Freeway in LA Mountains

On Tuesday, a big rig truck and nineteen vehicles collided on a freeway in the mountains of Los Angeles. The accident left at least fifteen people with minor injuries and two in critical condition.

Television news video footages taken on the incident showed more than one and a half dozen cars, SUVs, pick-up trucks, and a big-rig truck piled up on top of each other in a bunch of wreckage.

According to reports, the said multiple-vehicle accident occurred at around 9:45 in the morning at the southbound side of California Route 14 in Agua Dulce. Said route is commonly known as the Antelope Valley Freeway where cars bound for Los Angeles basin from the high desert bedroom communities often speed up.

The California Highway Patrol said that all southbound lanes and two northbound lanes were closed and re-opened at around 2:08 in the afternoon the same day.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department Captain, Mark Savage, said that fortunately for the people involved in the vehicle pile-up, there was neither fire nor hazardous material spill at the accident scene.

At least one person was trapped in the wreckage; firefighters were able to free that person immediately using Jaws of Life. A group of ambulance also responded to the scene and transported the injured victims to hospitals. Savage further said that most of the injuries sustained by the victims were minor expect for the two who were listed in critical condition.

At present, the major cause of the accident was not yet determined, but the investigation is still under way.

Such vehicle pileup accidents are common in mountain areas, which are both elevated and densely-populated with a lot of vehicles passing by. In California where vehicle pileups frequently occur, many victims suffer from different injuries ranging from minor to severe, and in worst cases, death.

This type of car accident encourages personal injury lawyers to extend their legal assistance to the victims who are in need of help. According to a Los Angeles motorcycle lawyer, in most lawyers’ countless experiences in defending victims of vehicle accidents and their families, they were able to gain a good reputation in providing clients the best legal assistance they deserve.

Sleepy Drivers and Drunk Drivers Have High Risks for Vehicle Accidents

In a study conducted by several safety advocates from France, it was revealed that being sleepy while driving is as risky as drunk driving. The study suggests that both sleepy drivers and drunk drivers are at least twice as possible to cause a vehicle accident.

The said study that was authored by Nicholas Moore at the Center of Hospitalo-Universitaire de Bordeaux analyzed data gathered from 679 drivers who were admitted to a hospital in southwestern France for more than a day because of a severe accident between 2007 and 2009.

Moore and his other co-author noted in a letter to the Archives of Internal Medicine that sleepiness poses almost as much risk as alcohol intake.

The researchers used information gathered from driver questionnaires and police reports to determine what factors may have contributed to the vehicle accidents. Under the questionnaires, drivers specified what medications they were going through, their alcohol intake and how sleepy they were before the accident, while hospital files gave information on patients’ blood alcohol levels.

Most of the injured drivers were at their golden age and majority of them were males. More than half of the injured was on a motorcycle while about a third was in a car and 10 percent was on a bicycle during the time of the accident.

Meanwhile, based on police reports, 355 of the drivers were found responsible for the accidents. The researchers concluded from the said reports that being baby boomers driving a car, drinking alcohol and being sleepy are all linked to an increased risk of causing a vehicle accident.

Furthermore, an associate scientist at the Henry Ford Hospital Sleep Disorders and Research Center in Detroit, Christopher Drake, also attested that a few hours of sleep loss will produce as much impairment as six bottles of beer. Therefore, Drake explained that if a person had a whole night of sleep loss, it equates to having a 0.19 blood alcohol content level. In US, the lawful blood alcohol level is 0.08 percent, and anything that goes beyond that limit is considered illegally impaired.

At present, there is no law that prohibits sleepy drivers from driving, or legislation to pull sleepy drivers on roadways. Nevertheless, several personal injury lawyers believe that in the long run, provisions covering sleepy drivers will be implemented due to the growing number of vehicle accidents involving sleepy drivers.

Estranged Wife of Robert F. Kennedy Commits Suicide

Robert F. Kennedy’s estranged wife, Mary Kennedy, was found dead on Wednesday in its Bedford home.

The Westchester County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that the cause of death of the 52-year-old architect is asphyxiation by hanging. In other words, it was a self inflicted death or suicide.

Robert F. Kennedy and the late Mary R. Kennedy were married in 1994; the later filed a divorce in 2010. Robert Kennedy is the son of the late Sen. Robert Kennedy.

Rumors say that the separation brought a devastating effect to Mrs. Kennedy. In fact, three days after their separation, Mrs. Kennedy was reported arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) when authorities found a blood alcohol content level of 0.11 percent in Mrs. Kennedy’s test. She was then required to pay a $500 monetary relief and police later confiscated her driver’s license for 90 days due to the said incident.

Months after the incident, Mrs. Kennedy was again arrested for driving under the influence of drugs. Fortunately, a jury from Pleasant Valley Town later dismissed the charges set against her, believing that Mrs. Kennedy was not really aware that her prescription drugs would impair her driving ability.

In New York, the impact of driving under the influence is severely catastrophic and in fact, one-third of drivers and pedestrians involved in all vehicle accident fatalities in New York are impaired or intoxicated.

The lawful blood alcohol content limit in each country varies. Usually, in most states in U.S. like in New York, the blood alcohol content limit is being measured trough a breath device, urinalysis or a blood test. Any percentage that goes beyond the 0.08% maximum level of blood alcohol content is considered enough to considerably impair a driver.  

Although, Mrs. Kennedy was once a public figure, it would not definitely become a factor to exclude her from traffic violation charges. She would still be held liable in an instance that her drunk driving caused injuries or damages to others.

In other states such as California, lawyers like a Los Angeles auto accident attorney also reminded the same statutes to most people under their jurisdiction to avoid such incidents of drunk driving.

“Grey’s Anatomy” Star – Patrick Dempsey Rescues a Teen from a Vehicle Accident

Patrick Dempsey, who portrays the role of a neurosurgeon saving lives of patients on the medical drama, “Grey’s Anatomy” turned into a real-life hero after saving a teen driver from a vehicle accident.

Dempsey reportedly saved the life of a teen driver who got involved in a vehicle accident that occurred last April 24 in front of Dempsey’s home in Malibu, California. 

According to reports, Dempsey used a crow bar and a fire extinguisher to free the 17-year-old driver, Weston Masset, from his rolled over vehicle. Masset reportedly lost control of his Mustang, which caused it to roll over trice and to land on Dempsey’s front yard.

Masset was barely conscious while he was being rescued by Dempsey. Reports said that Masset, however, still managed to ask Dempsey, upon seeing the actor standing in front of him, if Dempsey was famous. After rescuing Masset, Dempsey called the paramedics and the teen’s mother to inform the latter about the accident.

Dempsey and his wife, together with a few neighbors, stayed beside the teen until paramedics arrived and airlifted Masset to the nearest hospital to receive treatment for his personal injuries. Masset sustained an eye and brain injury but is expected to recover soon, reports said.

Dempsey’s spokesperson refused to give any comment regarding the incident. Meanwhile, Masset and his mother were very grateful with Dempsey for saving the teen’s life.

Until present, no further detail aside from the above-said information regarding the incident was released.

The State of California has been a witness to many different vehicle accidents each year. Good thing the Golden State has a lot of highly skilled personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles. Such lawyers have in fact established a remarkable record of representing victims of car accidents, whether of legal age or minors, over the past years.

CHP Urges Teen Drivers to Attend Safe Teen Driving Program

The California Highway Patrol is encouraging teen drivers to attend the agency’s week-long program which aims to educate teens about safe driving.

The CHP’s Start Smart Class is a program providing knowledge about safe driving not only to teenage drivers at ages fifteen to nineteen alone, but also to teens’ parents and guardians.

The class is set to kick-off 6 p.m. Monday and will only take 2-hours a day. Venue is at River Springs Charter School, 43040 Margarita Road in Temecula.

Techniques in avoiding vehicle accident, factors affecting traffic collisions, teen drivers and parent liabilities, and proper use of safety gears like seatbelts and airbags will be discussed by CHP officers during the class. Furthermore, several officers who have investigated fatal vehicle accidents involving teen drivers, and family members who have lost their love ones from road mishaps, will be providing a few statements.

One of CHP’s spokespersons, Nathan Baer, said that the program will help newly- and future licensed teen drivers to become more aware with the responsibilities that go with the privileges of having a driver’s license.

Reservations are not required to attend the class. Therefore, those who want to join the class wouldn’t get intimated with the reservation and registration process.

Teen drivers only represent 4% of California’s licensed drivers. However, during vehicle accidents, 66% of fatal collisions involve teen drivers and most often, they are found to be at fault. In fact, the major cause of death among Americans ages fifteen to twenty is vehicle accidents. 

Probably the most painful part of one’s life is to lose or to see their loved ones hurt due to such occurrences, which can actually be avoided with proper knowledge and precautions. Therefore, a Los Angeles personal injury attorney appreciates CHP’s efforts in pursuing to educate teen drivers in avoiding vehicle accidents since younger generations are more vulnerable to car accidents than adults.

Three Los Angeles Sisters Killed in a Single Vehicle Accident

Three women died from a single vehicle accident occurred at South Los Angeles last week while the two other passengers and the unlicensed driver are seriously injured.

The three women killed in the said accident were identified as siblings by the authorities. The youngest of the sisters, Jeshai Chanae Jones, 19-years-old, was pronounced dead just few hours after the incident, while Enisha Marie Davis, 21-years-old died last Sunday afternoon, and the eldest, Tiesha Turner, 28-years-old struggled until late afternoon last Monday.

The accident happened at around 2:45 in the morning last February 3 in 1400 Block of West Florence Avenue when an Infiniti SUV driven by an unlicensed driver – Tenina M. Calhoun hit a palm tree at Hyde Park.

The two other passengers and the driver of the vehicle sustained serious personal injuries and are still at the hospital.

In a report,  the California  Highway Patrol (CHP) has stated that Calhoun was already caught driving without license last January 3, but his vehicle was not impounded due to the new imposed law cancelling impound policy and allowing drivers to roam over the roadways even without driver’s license.

Now, issues about impounding the cars of unlicensed drivers have been set on fire again after this fatal accident.

A CHP officer has affirmed that if only Calhoun’s car had been impounded the day she was caught driver without license, his vehicle would not have been released until last Friday, several hours after the accident happened.

Obviously, there should have been no fatal vehicle accident occurred if only Calhoun’s car was impounded right at the moment she was cited driving without license by the CHP.

Authorities have said that they found at least one container of alcohol from the wrecked vehicle. Apart from alcohol, over speeding was also said to be a factor to the accident.  According to reports, all passengers were all wearing club attire at the time the accident occurred.

If the toxicology test result proves that Calhoun was under the influence of alcohol or drugs that night, she could be charged with multiple homicide and personal injury charges.

Calhoun’s two other passengers can also file for a claim even while they are at the hospital through the help of their lawyers. They must find a full – service law firm with aggressive trial attorneys to pursue their case from the filing of charges, to representation up to the case resolution like Sta. Monica personal injury attorneys.

Fatal Vehicle Accident Near Santa Monica Boulevard Leaves Woman Dead

A fatal three-vehicle accident near Santa Monica Boulevard leaves a woman dead with no other reported injuries.

The collision occurred last Tuesday at around 8:25 p.m. at 405 Freeway just north of Santa Monica Boulevard and shut down all south bound lanes which made the freeway looks like a huge parking lot for all the motorists passing by the area.

No other injured people were reported apart from the woman who died.  The victim’s identity has not been released.  The California Highway Patrol (CHP) has pronounced the victim dead at the scene.

Officer Patrick Kimbal of the CHP described the woman as a 56-year-old black.  However, it was not yet determined which of the three cars she was in. Authorities reopened the freeway at around 1:00 a.m.  

No matter how careful a motorist drives, vehicle accidents may still happen due to negligence or reckless driving of another motorist. But the chance of being injured or killed in an accident could be reduced if a driver uses the seatbelt of his vehicle and that airbags are installed. And also by following traffic rules and regulations, the risk of fatal accidents could be avoided.

During such accidents, an immediate action is needed most especially if a victim has all the rights to file a compensation claim from the parties liable for the accident. The woman’s family must make sure that they get the right accident lawyers in Los Angeles or Los Angeles wrongful death lawyers who will never leave them hanging once the investigation found out that the woman died due to another driver’s negligence or reckless driving.

53-Year Old Woman Killed in a Manhattan Beach Vehicle Accident

Though the State of New York is one of the US states with the most comprehensive Graduated License Law for teens, accidents involving young drivers cannot be totally avoided since they occur at any given place and any given time.

A fatal vehicle accident happened last December 23 at the intersection of Sepulveda Boulevard and Eight Street. This accident involved a minor.

The said vehicle accident involved a 53-year old motorcyclist and a 17-year old boy driving a Toyota along with another passenger. The driver and the passenger of the Toyota suffered serious physical injuries.

However, the 53-year old woman driving the motorcycle died after she was brought to Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance. The woman’s identity has been withheld pending notification of relatives.

The main cause of the vehicle accident is not yet determined and investigation is currently in progress.

Though the 17-year old boy is one year away from the legal age of consent, he is still considered a minor. As we all know, teen drivers are not given the full privilege of driving until they proved that they are capable of driving safely. Therefore, the said accident could be accounted for the teen’s legal guardian for letting the minor drive in a busy thoroughfare.

It is still unclear which part deserves the right to file for personal injury claims. Another problem that may also arise from the vehicle accident claim is when the insurance companies trap the onset claim set forth because a minor was driving the car during the incident. In such cases, you can have a full guidance through the claiming process to ensure that casualties can get the best medical treatment they need as well as to fight for your rights to a financial recovery through the help of personal injury attorney.