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8 Dead as Vehicles Plunge into Canal After Central Valley Car Accident
July 16, 2008

The bodies of five farm laborers who are believed to have drowned after a two-car accident at the Delta-Mendota Canal as they returned from work, have been recovered, and another two are still missing.

The farm laborers were on their way back from picking peaches in a red SUV along the canal, while a commercial vehicle used for septic tank maintenance was driving westward on the same route. The speed of the two vehicles has not been determined. When the car accident occurred on the small bridge over the canal, both vehicles smashed through the barricades, and into the deep water. At the time of the car accident, experts have ascertained that the water was about 17 feet deep, and the currents were very strong. In other words, a survival was a distant hope.

So far, police investigations have revealed no details about the cause of the accident. All that remains at the scene of the car accident are skid marks of one of the vehicles as it went over the guardrail. The farm laborers are all immigrants, and most were in their teens or early twenties. As soon as news of the car accident spread, relatives of the immigrants began gathering at the scene, and Spanish language translators helped relay information to worried relatives. Disaster crews that reached the scene of the car accident say that it was obvious that there was not going to be any rescue in this particular tragedy, only recovery of bodies.

People in the neighborhood say the canal has been a death magnet for a while now, and it’s common to have accidents similar to this one, happening at least two or three times a year. Just three years ago, a similar car accident – this one too involving farm laborers - occurred, that killed four farm laborers who drowned when their vehicle went off the road and into the canal. Residents in the neighborhood also complain that the guardrail is of substandard quality, with light spacing. Obviously, the guardrail doesn’t seem to have been much of a ”barricade” to the two vehicles’ tragic fall down into the canal.

We need to take these claims of substandard guardrails at the bridge seriously, and look into whether there was indeed any negligence on the part of those responsible for the bridge’s or guardrail’s upkeep that could have resulted in this being an unreasonably dangerous highway.

Very often, laborers have very few people in their corner ready to fight on their side, with the result that a number of injustices go undetected and unpunished. These are hard working people who come here to do all the jobs we’re not interested in doing.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of car accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

 

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Burglar Found Guilty of First-Degree Murder in Carlsbad Car Accident
July 07, 2008

During his trial for a series of offences, including first-degree murder and burglary, Karl Russell informed the judge that he didn't remember anything of the 2006 car accident in Carlsbad that he caused, which led to the death of another motorist. He saw blinding lights from heaven, he claimed, and was convinced that it was some surreal near-death experience or sign from above. When his other-worldly experience had passed, the unfortunate motorist, Rodrigo Vega, was dead from injuries he received after his vehicle collided with a speeding and reckless Russell.

The heavens may have been kind enough to bless him with a divine light, but the judge hearing his case was in no mood for such benevolence. He has found Russell guilty of a series of offences, including first-degree murder and burglary. Russell has also been found guilty of vehicle theft and causing serious injury and death while evading police arrest after the car accident.

On September 5, 2006, Russell was actually on the run from a burglary that he had just committed with another partner at an Oceanside residence just 15 minutes earlier. He was on the run from the police, who were hot on his chase. The 1994 Oldsmobile he was driving was also a stolen vehicle. Add to this, he was drunk and speeding at 100 miles-per-hour.

Close to 4:50 am, he approached the intersection of El Camino Real and Plaza Drive, where he collided with a pickup. The driver of that pickup, Rodrigo Vega, was thrown from his seat and killed. He was on his way to work at the Callaway Golf Club when the car accident occurred.

After the car accident, Russell's blood alcohol limit was measured at .13. His attorneys argued on any number of technicalities - that he had already dropped off his burglar buddy a few moments before the car accident, so technically he wasn't really on the run from the cops, and so on. Thankfully, the judge seems to have been in no mood to be lenient with a burglar in a stolen car, speeding and drinking without control, who killed another driver through his behavior. Technicalities and visions of divine lights were obviously not sufficient to get Russell off the hook.

Sentencing for him will be announced on August 26, and Russell faces up to 26 years in prison. Considering the amount of destruction he's caused to the family of Rodrigo Vera and others who have been impacted by his brazen disregard of the laws and criminal activity, prison seems like the safest place for him to be in.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of car accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

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Fountain Valley Woman Faces Charges in Fatal Multi-Car Accident Case
June 16, 2008

A 72-year-old woman has failed to convince investigators she wasn't at fault in a seven-car accident in April in Fountain Valley that killed one person. She will most probably face vehicular manslaughter charges, according to the Orange County Register.

Back in April, Pauline Grandis was driving her Honda Pilot with her husband Albert in the passenger seat. As she neared a red light, Pauline accelerated her car and crashed it right into a Lexus that was stopped at the red light, along with a number of other cars. The force of the impact sent the Lexus spinning around and into the cars that were lined up right in front of it. A total of seven cars were damaged in the crash, and the driver of the Lexus, 69-year-old Shirley Anne Mailman, was killed instantly.

The Grandis couple also suffered injuries, and they were taken to a hospital for treatment. At the time of the car accident, the only clue that there had been a physically challenged driver or a senior citizen behind the wheel was a prosthetic brace fitted into a shoe that was found at the scene of the car accident. The Pilot also had disability license plates and was equipped with a wheel chair lift. More than two months after the car accident, the Grandis couple has recovered from their injuries, and they have spoken about the accident to police.

According to Pauline Grandis, the Pilot suddenly accelerated as she neared the red light, and when she tried to brake, the brakes didn't work. Her husband then, she says, tried to pull the keys out of the ignition in an attempt to stop or slow down the car.

Police investigators have, however, found a few holes in this story. For one, surveillance tapes of the car accident from a nearby gas station show that the Pilot did not brake in the seconds before impact. Later, investigations further revealed that there was no air bag deployed, and a mechanical check up revealed that the brakes were functional. An analysis of the accident later showed that the Pilot was going at 65 mph.

Even at the time of the car accident, it was evident that speeding had been a factor in the crash. The impact, which was strong enough to decimate one car and severely damage 6 others, besides killing a woman instantly, would not have been as great if the Pilot had been going at a safe speed. Now, it is confirmed that Pauline Grandis did not attempt to brake or was unsuccessful in braking in time to prevent the crash.

Ms Grandis has also blamed other problems with her SUV for the car accident. There had been transmission problems in the past, she alleges, and on the day of the accident, she had found that the SUV had gone into reverse when she turned the key and stepped on the gas. You wonder why she didn't just send the car in for repairs, and why she even attempted to drive in a car that, as she alleges, was doing things in reverse. Her account that her husband tried to pull the key out of the ignition in the moments before the crash has also not been confirmed by her husband, who left out that piece of information altogether.

It is clear what has happened in this case. There are too many factors pointing to speed and poor reflexes probably related to advanced years of the driver as the cause of the car accident. Able-bodied senor citizens have as much right to be behind the wheel as anyone else, but if their physical and mental faculties are diminishing, it's safe to say that they should probably not be driving at all. There are too many risks, not just to themselves, but also to other motorists on the road. It's unfair to say that people on the street should be at risk of injury or even death, just because an older person decides to take his driving privileges for granted.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of car accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

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$6 Million Settlement in Santa Monica Market Car Accident Deaths Lawsuits
June 04, 2008

A settlement of $6 million has been agreed upon by the city of Santa Monica, California to settle the final lawsuits arising from the market accident of 2003, when an elderly driver mowed his way through shoppers in a busy street market. The agreement comes just as jury selection for a Superior Court trial was going on. The two lawsuits were brought by the families of victims, including a 7-month-old boy and an injured person. In all, three people died in the accident.

On July 16^th 2003, 86-year-old George Wells was in his 1992 Buick LeSabre when it hit a car just before it reached the market. Wells continue to drive fast ignoring the sign that said the road was closed. He went through barricades, and entered the market. He then plowed through the dozens of shoppers, hitting people and crashing into food stalls. He was driving at 60 mph. By the time the carnage ended, 3 people had died and dozens had been injured.

Investigations later found that Weller in his panic stepped on the gas, and not the brake. He was convicted of 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. Even as he was found guilty, Weller remained defiant, and refused to accept responsibility for the accident. Because of his poor health at the time of conviction, Weller was sentenced to 5 years of probation.

After the accident, dozens of those injured and families of victims filed lawsuits against Weller and the city Bayside District Co-operation that manages the area where the market was held. The lawsuits alleged personal injury, wrongful death and negligence. Now, the city has agreed to pay $6 million to settle the final lawsuits.

The same insurer covers the district and the city. The money is expected to be paid within 30 days.

The accident sparked off a debate about the driving rights of the elderly, and whether they should be required to pass additional driving tests at the time of renewal of their licenses. The debate is an ongoing one, and it is a highly emotional one too. We at the Reeves Law Group believe that driving is a privilege, and not a right. If a person is not able to drive with all his faculties intact - whether due to the influence of alcohol or drugs or because of advanced age or any other condition that might affect his coordination and concentration abilities - then he should not be behind the wheel. Weller, it is clear, had seen his best driving years behind him, and should probably not have been driving the car.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of car accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

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Memorial Day Car Accidents in Los Angeles Kill Seven
May 27, 2008

The Memorial Day weekend turned into a tragedy for at least seven Los Angeles residents who were reported killed in accidents across Los Angeles. 27 were also injured in these car accidents.

The most destructive car accident occurred when a van speeding south on Crenshaw ran a red light and collided with another van. The second vehicle was thrown into the air. By the time it smashed onto the ground, it had exploded into flames. This set off a chain reaction, with at least four other vehicles running into the burning van. Three people died in that crash, including two children who died at the scene. At least 100 emergency workers were called in to control the flames. By the time the flames had been doused, the six-car pileup had been declared the worst disaster of the holiday weekend.

The six-car accident was not the first one of the weekend to cause such destruction. A white Range Rover on Crescent Drive veered off the road and rolled 250 feet down a steep hill, before landing upside down on a carport. Inside were five passengers, including the driver, a 70-year-old man and a toddler in a car seat. The 70-year-old man was declared dead at the scene. A 20-year-old passenger was taken to hospital, where she died. The driver of the van, who is suspected of being the older man's caretaker, has been critically injured. Two other passengers suffered moderate injuries, including a toddler who had a miraculous escape.

Another four-vehicle car accident on Monday evening, this one on the southbound Hollywood freeway, led to at least two vehicles overturning. No fatalities were reported, but at least 8 people, including a child, are reported to have been injured.

Every year, the media and the state police send out their routine "be safe on Memorial Day" messages, but it doesn't seem to sink deep enough to avoid such fatalities. Many factors contribute to an increasing number of car accidents over the holiday weekend. Alcohol is definitely the most important factor in car accidents that occur over a major holiday. Add to this the fact that there are many more vehicles on the street, all in a hurry to get to someone's backyard or pool party, and you see that conditions are prime for devastating car accidents to occur. In the six-car wreck, the van that set off the crash ran a red light.

Accidents, whenever they occur, are unfortunate, especially when they involve fatalities or severe injuries. If these occur around a beloved holiday, it's particularly heartbreaking.

If you have been injured in a car accident, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury lawyer. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

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Parents of Girl Injured in Car Accident Sue Turlock School District
May 02, 2008

New signs that warn drivers of a school crossing have been installed at the crosswalk where Geer and Pedras Roads in Turlock, California meet. But it's a little late in the day for them to be of any use to Rachel McClure. The 7-year-old is brain damaged after a car accident in the crosswalk. Her family has now filed a lawsuit against Turlock Unified School District seeking $2.8 million in damages.

Last October, Rachel, along with her older sister Rebecca, was heading home from school, and stepped into the crosswalk. They didn't see the Toyota Camry that was racing trying to beat the red light until it had slammed against Rachel. The girl was flown to University of California at Davis Medical Center in Sacramento after the car accident. She was in the hospital for a total of four weeks, one of which she spent in a coma. She suffered a range of injuries in the car accident - a broken leg, a broken hip, skull fractures and brain injuries. She has suffered long lasting effects of the car accident - brain damage.

The driver of the car, an illegal alien, is believed to have fled back across the border. Rachel's family also blames the Turlock Unified School District, which is named in the lawsuit. Rachel and Rebecca, who attended Crowell Elementary School, were told last year that they were being moved to another school, where they would have no bus service. Their mother, Tonya, is disabled and has no driver's license, and she petitioned the district for a bus pickup. The district informed her that her girls could attend Sandra Tovar Medeiros Elementary School in north Turlock. The children would be picked up and dropped off at the Crowell Elementary School, and would have to walk from there. This was where the car accident occurred.

The crux of their lawsuit is that there were no crossing guards posted at the point where Geer Road meets Pedras Road. There were two crossing guards posted at two other points, although the school has not confirmed if they were on duty at the time of the car accident.

In their response to the lawsuit, the school board authorities have passed off the blame of the car accident on the McClure's, saying they "assumed the risk" when they decided to send their daughter to school knowing that she had to walk home after being dropped off at Crowell Elementary. Actually, there shouldn't have been an element of risk in a child walking home from school, and there wouldn't have been if there had been a crossing guard posted where the car accident occurred. Going to and coming home from school should not be a dangerous matter, especially when the school district has taken the responsibility of busing them to and fro on itself.

If arrangements could not have been made to provide a bus service that would pick them and drop them off right at their doorstep, there should have been crossing guards to make up. These were 7 and 8 years old girls, - you can't just dump kids of that age at a major and busy intersection, cross your fingers and hope someone won't take it into his head to speed or run a red light. The school district has not only been negligent, but also callous in its response to the McClures.

If you have been injured in a car accident, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury lawyer. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

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Witnesses in Bakersfield Car Accident Case Testify
May 01, 2008

A team of expert witnesses has finished testifying in the vehicular manslaughter case against Gordon Douglas Tutton, who was involved in a fatal car accident last year.

61-year-old Tutton is accused of running a stop sign on the Lerdo Highway last August, and crashing his car into a SUV carrying a woman, her son and a friend. The boy, 16-year-old Brock Christian Bellue, was killed in the car accident. His mother, Bakersfield, California resident Kellie Roland, had been driving the car. She suffered broken ankles. The other person in the car was Jordan Root, the 13-year-old child of a family friend, who suffered minor injuries.

The weeks of testimony since the car accident has raised several possibilities, and new facts have come to light. For one, blood tests done on Tutton have revealed the presence of Valium and traces of marijuana in his blood. So, he wasn't just speeding and breaking traffic rules, but was also intoxicated. The case has now been handed to the jury who has to decide whether Tutton was behind the wheel of his car at the time of the car accident. Both Kellie and Root, who were in the car at the time of the crash, have firmly pointed to him as the driver, and said they have no doubt that he was the one driving. However, his defense team has rounded up three police officers who claim that after the car accident Shalee Cole, who was in the car with Tutton, confided that she had been driving the car. When asked to testify, Shalee invoked the Fifth Amendment, which could be seen as an admission.

There are several other factors that have sent the case swinging in either direction. For instance, defense experts have said that Cole suffered injuries that are consistent with someone who was driving at the time of the car accident. But emergency room doctors who treated Shalee after the car accident have said that she suffered no injuries to areas that could have been hurt were she driving, like on her chest. Cole's mother also played a part in the case, telling the jurors that her daughter had confided in her that she had been driving the car.

Tutton himself hardly paints the wrongly accused figure here. He has been accused of drunk driving in the past, and has faced prior charges of drug possession and selling marijuana.

Tutton's defense says he has been made a scapegoat in the car accident, and the police and the community in general, have been too quick to blame him. He said the proceedings sometimes resembled an "inquisition." The jury will continue deliberating on the matter, so we could have a few more days to wait until the truth about whether this was an "inquisition" or a regular DUI case comes into the open.

Regardless of whoever turns out to have been driving the car the night of the accident, we hope Brock's family will pursue all legal courses open to them.

If you have lost a loved one in a car accident, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury attorney. Contact a lawyer at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

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Woman Killed in Orange County Car Accident
April 30, 2008

Once again a terrible car accident drives home the reality that driving is a privilege that should be exercised with caution. A seven-car pile up on Talbert Avenue in Fountain Valley, California triggered by a Honda Pilot crashing into a car at a red light has killed one woman, according to the Orange County Register.

There was nothing to warn vehicles that were parked at the traffic light on west bound Talbert Avenue that in a few seconds they would be faced with the prospect of death or injury in a car accident. For 69-year-old Ann Shirley Mailman sitting in her Lexus at the traffic lights, there was nothing to prepare her for the crash that was to come. No screech of brakes, no warning smell of burning rubber. Just a huge and deafening crashing noise as a Honda Pilot driving at 50 miles per hour crashed against her car. The impact of the car accident was enough to set off a domino effect that played out impacting other cars standing at the lights. The car accident slammed the trunk into the back of the Lexus, and the two cars then managed to hit a Dodge Ram right next to the Lexus. The Lexus then slammed into a Mercedes station wagon, and then a Toyota. The Toyota in turn hit a silver SUV.

In all, 7 cars were impacted in the crash, some were totaled, and others suffered just minor damage. Anne Shirley Mailman died at the scene of the car accident.

The driver and passenger of the Pilot were taken to the UCI Medical Center in Orange, and the woman in the Mercedes Benz station wagon was also taken to the hospital for injuries after the car accident.

It's obvious now that the driver of the Pilot was speeding at the time of the car accident. The size and extent of the damage in the crash - involving a total of 7 cars - indicates that there was speed involved. A car going at normal speed can not only be controlled before it does damage or causes a car accident, but it also doesn't cause the kind of damage and the fatality that we have seen here.

Nobody knows the exact version of why the crash occurred, and the driver of the Pilot hasn't yet given his version of events. Investigators will definitely have questions to ask, however. Why was it not possible to brake the car when it reached the red light? Did they even attempt to apply the brakes?

 If you have been injured in a car accident, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury lawyer.  Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation. 

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Investigators Look into Role of Pontiac in Fatal Car Crash
April 22, 2008

Questions are being asked about the accident in Inver Grove Heights in Minnesota that killed 4-year-old Tamaya Philips and Brittany Carlson. Brittany's 2- year-old son, Brandon, was also injured in the accident and remains hospitalized and in a coma.

The accident, which took place last Thursday, involved a Saturn sedan that Brittany was driving and another car, a Pontiac Grand Prix that crossed the median. Brittany was driving with her two children and the two children of her best friend Nicole. She was heading south when the Pontiac Grand Prix, driven by 18-year-old Brittany Krueger of Rosemont, crossed the median and struck the Saturn.

Brittany Carlson was trapped in her seat and died in the car before she could be extricated. Tamaya Philips was taken to hospital, where she died. Brandon was rushed to University of Minnesota's Children's Hospital, where he is still being treated for severe injuries. The other two children who were involved in the crash are reported to be unhurt.

Investigators are now trying to piece together why the Pontiac Grand Prix crossed the median. It's still too early to say what exactly happened, they say. Meanwhile, relatives of both families want answers of their own.

There must be more to the Pontiac Grand Prix connection than meets the eye. The coming days will tell us whether there were drugs or alcohol involved, or if excessive speed caused the driver of the Pontiac to lose control. This tragic accident could have also been cause by a car defect, or a dangerous segment of road.

While news stories and reports on the accident seem to focus on the fact that lack of and proper use of restraints were responsible for the deaths and serious injuries of the victims in this accident, it is important to remember that if there was no crash, there would have been no injuries or fatalities. Using seat belts effectively and consistently is always important when in a car, but when you are driving safely on your side of the road and a car crosses the median and hits you head-on, seat belts can only do so much to save your life. Maybe proper use of seat belts would have helped these two families, or maybe not. What we do know is that if the other car did not end up on the wrong side of the road, Tamaya and Brittany would still be alive. There are no maybes in that part of the equation.

Investigators need to stop blaming the victims here, and get on the case of why the driver steered her car through the median, causing this accident. The answer to this tragedy is in piecing together and determining where the fault lies.

If you have been injured in a car accident, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury lawyer. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

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Man Involved in Fatal 1999 Accident Causes Yet Another Crash
April 10, 2008

Some people, it seems, just never learn. You would think a man who has caused the death of a teenager in the past by driving while drunk, would have knocked himself sober. In fact, considering that his license had been revoked after that accident, you would think he wouldn't even be behind a wheel, let alone breaking traffic rules.

Let's hope, at least this time around, Teddy Carpenter gets what he deserves.

Back in 1999, Teddy Carpenter pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated, involuntary manslaughter and criminal damaging in the accident that caused the death of 18-year-old Jennifer Sellers. After the accident, Carpenter fled the scene. When he was later found, he pleaded guilty in exchange for having charges of vandalism, aggravated vehicular homicide, aggravated vehicular assault, leaving the scene of the accident and reckless operation dismissed.

He served a total of 4 years in prison. Four years for killing a young girl. His driving privileges were permanently revoked.

For the Sellers family, memories of that tragic day in 1999 came back when they heard of the man responsible for their daughter's death being involved in yet another accident. This time Carpenter, fortunately, failed to actually kill anyone. He ignored a "right turn" only sign on route 33, and managed to cross the median and strike a car that was traveling west on route 33. The occupants of the other car, a Nissan, were injured, but luckily both will recover.

After the accident, Carpenter did what he does best - he ran from the scene. Old habits apparently die hard. He hotfooted it to his girlfriend's house.

When police arrived, they took him to hospital for treatment of the injuries he sustained in the accident. Once at the hospital, and when he had recovered somewhat, he actually fled again.

It's not clear why he wasn't arrested before he was taken to the hospital. At last, police found him back at his girlfriend's house. When police turned up at the house, it turns out they had plenty of old and unfinished business pending with him. He had a string of child support payment failures, and had failed to turn up for a drug hearing.

This was a man who had no business being out in 4 years for killing another motorist. This is exactly what happens when a man gets away with a slap on the wrist after a grievously injurious accident involving drunken driving. If the degree of punishment after the 1999 accident had been severe or crippling, there is a good chance that someone like Teddy Carpenter would have had sense knocked into him, and also he wouldn't be out on the streets, where he is putting other lives in danger.

Now that Carpenter is in custody, we hope stricter action is taken against him. Or we can expect more accidents, and maybe, more fatalities and injuries linked to his name.

If you have been injured in a car accident, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury lawyer. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

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Teenager Killed in Speed Racing Accident
March 17, 2008

The thrill for speed took another innocent life over the weekend when a 14-year-old boy died as a result of street racing. It seems that the car in which the victim, Phoenix Nguyen, was traveling was involved in a race with another driver before the crash.

18-year-old Ty Van Nguyen was driving a black Acura Integra when he ran the stop sign and crashed into another car, a white Cadillac Escalade driven by Devin Miller, who was driving his family to a birthday party. None in Miller's car were seriously injured.

According to Miller, he noticed that the Acura was involved in a race of some kind with another car, which seems to have disappeared after the crash. 14-year-old Phoenix Ngueyn was taken to hospital where he died. Other passengers in the Acura included two 17-year-old girls and an 18-year-old man who were taken to hospital for their injuries. The driver, Ty Van Nguyen, seems not to have suffered severe injuries.

According to residents in the neighborhood, drag racing is a common occurrence in that area. Residents are used to hearing the telltale screech of tires on asphalt in the middle of the might. The street where the accident occurred is wide open and has very little traffic, which makes it very popular among teen racers. Regardless of the minimal traffic, there is an elementary school nearby and many children use the streets, residents say. When the police are called, the drivers disappear before they arrive, and no real progress has been made on stemming the problem caused by these drivers.

Letting youngsters get away without suffering the consequences of their actions seems to be becoming a regular occurrence in these parts. Let's hope the same doesn't happen with Ty Van Nguyen. The young man doesn't deserve to walk away with no charges. If his friends or family have any interest in his well being, they'll realize that this sort of reckless behavior will occur again. There are too many reckless young boys and girls behind wheels, putting other people's lives in danger with such antics, and the more sympathy we show, the more we encourage such behavior that endangers the lives of other law-abiding citizens. The Millers were lucky that they all escaped without serious harm - there was huge potential for more tragedies in this crash. The Miller's car had four children strapped into the back seat. Other families on the road aren't so lucky.

Just last August, a young boy was killed while on his bicycle and the community came together in a showing of sympathy for the young driver who caused the crash. As it turned out later, not only was the driver texting on his cell phone, but he was allegedly conducting a drug deal, and, more than likely, was intoxicated when he rammed his car into the young boy.

When the facts came out, he didn't look like an innocent boy who made a mistake. We should not make that same mistake with Ty Van Nguyen.

If you have been injured or a loved-one has been killed in a car accident, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury attorney. Contact a lawyer at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

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Crash Test Data Leads to Small Personal Injury Settlement
March 11, 2008

Hajrie Hisenaj has reason to feel disappointed in the verdict she received from a jury recently. She was handed a paltry $50,000 settlement for her degenerative disc disease and a herniated disc she says was caused in a fender bender accident on March 2, 1998.

The accident that occurred was a low speed one, and there wasn't significant damage to Hajrie's car, when another vehicle, driven by Amanda Kuehner rear-ended her car. Although there was insignificant damage to the vehicle, the same couldn't be said of Hajrie's health. In the years since the accident, the 58-year-old woman has suffered from degenerative disc disease that has hampered her mobility.

The turning point in the case was the findings of a biomechanical study with human test subjects, which tried to show that low impact crashes do not cause serious physical injuries. Biomechanical engineering uses human test subjects for testing, and studies the relationship of force and its impact on the human body. Hajrie's lawyer did try to block defense testimony from Harold Alexander, an engineer, who based his testimony from a total of 17 studies conducted over a 34-year period. A total of 203 volunteers were used in the experiments. They did not show signs of chronic physical injury, he testified.

Judge W. Hunt Dumont must have known that this evidence, if presented, could prejudice jurors, and that's what seems to have happened. Hajrie received a modest sum as settlement that won't even begin to pay for the kind of struggle she can expect in the days ahead.

Her lawyer argued that the studies conducted included very few women of her age and with a history of degenerative disease. Hajrie went ahead and appealed the decision, arguing that the study only focuses on the change of velocity to her vehicle, and did not take into account other factors in the accident that might have been responsible for her injuries. The Appellate Division found that the studies were unreliable and unscientific and reversed the ruling.

We can now expect the data from these biomechanical engineering tests to be used frequently by defense lawyers to bring down the amount of settlement that the defendant would otherwise have to pay. There is a misconception that exists that holds that accidents that occur at low speed cause no injury to the persons involved, or that if there is no damage to the vehicle, then we can safely assume there is no injury to the person in the vehicle at all. As we know from Hajrie's disc degenerative disease, that worsened after the accident, that is simply not the case. This sort of testimony negated many of the other factors that could contribute to a person's injures at the time of the accident. The study in this case contained data that wasn't representative of Hajrie's profile. Only five of the persons studied were women and only one of them matched Hajrie's age.

This has set an unfortunate precedent for personal injury lawsuits in the future.

If you have been injured in a car accident, you need the help of an experienced California injury attorney. Contact a lawyer at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

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San Jose Teenager Killed in Accident: Speed and "Trunking" to Blame
January 10, 2008

Yet another teenager has fallen victim to a rash of drunken driving and speeding related accidents.

16-year-old Jessica Stephens was killed when the Honda CRX she was in ran a red light and was slammed into by a van. The driver of the Honda 19-year-old Eduardo Perez was suspected of running a red light, and speeding at the time of the accident. Neither of these two reasons are out of the ordinary when it comes to this particular area - at least 4 teenagers have died in less than 6 months from crashes related to excessive speeds. What makes Jessica's' tragedy especially unnecessary is that she was crouched in the back of an two seater car - illegal according to the state's trunking laws.

California's trunking laws prohibit drivers from having passengers hiding in holds or other areas not designated for seating. Teenagers are particularly fond of letting friends ride in the holds and the law was formulated precisely to prevent that. From Jessica's death, it's obvious that more needs to be done to drill the stupidity of such behavior and stress the needlessly tragic consequences that can come about when people are cooped into a small space not meant for holding passengers.

Jessica was crouched in the trunk with another girl who was injured in the accident. The impact of the crash sent the Honda spinning out of control, before it finally stopped 50 feet away.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, the driver of the car suffered severe injuries and police are waiting for him to regain consciousness to charge him with vehicular manslaughter and gross negligence.

This accident is the latest in a series of fatalities, all involving teenagers speeding while on the road. If you or a loved-one has been injured or killed in a car crash caused by a speeding driver, contact an experienced California personal injury attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

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Street Racing Causes Yet Another Fatal Accident
January 02, 2008

Two BMWs involved in a street race near Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California caused a horrific crash that killed one person. The man killed was an innocent motorist, not involved in the race.

According to witnesses, the accident took place when one of the BMWs spun out of control, and smashed into a 2007 Infiniti. The driver of the Infiniti was killed, while a male passenger in that car suffered severe third-degree burn injuries over 50 percent of his body. The second BMW driver fled from the scene. Flying debris from the crash fell on a third car, although no one was injured.

The driver of the BMW has been identified as Carlos Steven John, a Los Angeles resident. And, as it turns out, not only was he speed racing on the streets, but was also intoxicated at the time of the accident. Drunk driving by itself would have been enough to cause an accident, but when you add street racing to the mix, it's not surprising that the impact of the crash was so devastating. Witnesses report that everything happened so quickly, that they had barely enough time to comprehend. Debris from the collision was flying everywhere.

No details about the surviving victim are available at this point, although he's still listed as being in critical condition. The next couple of days are obviously going to be crucial for this young man. At The Reeves Law Group, we hope the families of both victims will take all steps necessary to seek justice for them. They were just two guys out minding their own business- that their evening should have turned into such a tragedy because one man decided to tank up with liquor and then proceed to use the street as his personal racing track is not just shocking, but outrageous.

If you or a family member has been hurt or killed in car crash caused by street racing or any other form of reckless driving, contact the Los Angeles wrongful death law firm immediately for a free consultation.

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Series of Freeway Accidents in Upland California Injure 6
December 07, 2007

A total of three car accidents, one of them severe, occurred within 30 minutes of each other and within a two-mile distance of each other in Upland and Montclair yesterday.

The first accident was a minor one, but it set off another more severe crash involving a Nissan Maxima. The car broke out in flames and the passengers, a young couple from Rancho Cucamonga California, were rescued by a trio of three cousins, also Rancho Cucamonga residents who smashed the windows of the burning car and dragged the two out to safety. Both the driver and the passenger suffered severe injuries including abrasions and bleeding.

Another car that got involved in the collision had residents of Beaumont, Rialto and Corona and they suffered moderate injuries.

The third crash in the series occurred at Monte Vista Avenue and involved a total of four cars. A 37-year-old Montclair California resident was rushed to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical center after that accident.

The California car accident lawyers at The Reeves Law Group have substantial expertise representing victims of road accidents and have successfully won settlements for their clients.

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Two Salinas California Girls Killed, Two Injured in Monterey Accident
December 06, 2007

Two teenage girls from Salinas, California were killed and two others in the same car were injured when the driver lost control of the 2000 black Jaguar they were in.

17-year-old Romelia Garcia Rico was driving. She was unlicensed. Both she and Karen Aldaco were ejected from their seatswhen the Jaguar went across an embankment through a fence and across Monterey Road, landing near the sidewalk on its roof. Rico was wearing her seat belt. Aldaco was not.

The other two passengers in the car, 20-year-old Rogelia Ornelas, and a 15-year-old girl were rushed to nearby San Jose hospitals.

California Highway Patrol officials, say they are investigating into the role of drugs and alcohol in the crash. They don't have a lot of information on how fast the car was going, or what caused Rico to lose control of the car.

If you've been injured in a crash that was caused by drunk driving, call the experienced California accident lawyers at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

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Orange County Car Collision Leaves One Dead
November 06, 2007

A deadly head on collision between a Honda Accord and a Toyota 4 Runner caused the death of one of the passengers. At least two others are reported to be injured in the accident that occurred at 1.25 PM Monday afternoon near Edinger Avenue in Huntington Beach, the Orange County Register reported.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation but witnesses reported seeing one of the vehicles lose control of the car before it veered into incoming traffic.

The impact of the accident was tremendous on both the Accord and the SUV. The Accord was sliced into two, and one of the passengers was ejected into a ravine where he died. Another passenger, miraculously enough, escaped with minor injuries. The 4 Runner flipped over, injuring the driver who was admitted to UCI Medical Center.

Huntington Beach Police have asked witnesses who may be able to help with the investigation to come forward.

In the aftermath of an accident, it's natural to feel traumatized and confused. You may not be able to fully comprehend the extent of your rights. The California accident lawyers at The Reeves Law Group offer a free consultation to car accident victims.

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San Antonio Man Arrested After 100 Car Pile Up in Fresno
November 05, 2007

A 62-year-old San Antonio resident was picked up after suspicions that his car was at the forefront of the massive 100 car pile up that occurred on California Highway 99 in Fresno. DUI was suspected to be the cause of the man's accident that is being looked at as a causal factor that led to the pile up, the worst on California Highway 99 in nearly 100 years.

The massive pileup occurred on Saturday and at least two people were killed in the accident. Both passengers, a 28-year-old man and a 5-year-old boy were in separate vehicles. 108 vehicles including 8 big rigs were involved in the mass collision which occurred at about 7.45 am over a two mile stretch of the highway. The weather was foggy and investigators have accounted for the bad weather as one of the causes of the crash. This DUI arrest has however cut a new angle to the story.

Dozens of people were trapped in their cars and had to be extricated. Rescue crews went to work cleaning the nearly 90 gallons of diesel fuel that leaked from the damaged tanks of trucks. The pile up occurred south of Fresno and authorities shut down northbound lanes of Highway 99, leading to a 3-mile-long traffic backup until late in the afternoon.

If you have been injured in an auto accident, contact a California auto accident lawyer at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

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Police Suspect Road Rage in Reseda Auto Accident
October 12, 2007

Two men have been booked after what Los Angeles police described as a possible road rage related accident.

The accident took place on Tuesday in Reseda, California. 44-year-old Brian Gilbert Barge was traveling in his Nissan Maxima and 19-year-old Armando Gamboa Ayon was in his Chevrolet Camaro. According to the Los Angeles Times, both were headed down Sherman Way when Ayon, for as yet unidentified reasons, lost control of his car and crashed into a parked vehicle. A 31-year-old woman was standing near the parked car with her 4-year-old son and 2-month-old child. It's not clear how the three pedestrians were struck - some reports say the woman had just taken her children out of the car and was walking with them when the Chevrolet slammed into a nearby vehicle - but police say the family was rushed to hospital with critical injuries.

Police initially suspected illegal street racing to be the cause of the crash. Just a couple of days earlier, another woman and her two children were burned to death when her car was involved in a multi vehicle crash that was triggered off by a couple of street racing drivers. However in this new case, road rage and not street racing is believed to have played a part.

The two drivers have been taken into custody.

Road rage or aggressive driving is a major cause of motor vehicle accidents in this country. Road rage is typically described as driving with open hostility to other drivers on the roads, and with no concern for the safety of others.

Persons who display signs of aggressive behavior on the streets can be held accountable for the catastrophic injuries that result when a pedestrian accident is caused by their behavior. The attorneys at The Reeves Law Group have substantial expertise handling personal injury cases resulting from pedestrian accidents. Call for a free consultation.

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Woman Killed in Orange, California Car Crash
September 25, 2007

Early Sunday morning, a woman was killed in a car crash in Orange, California when her car swerved across lanes and struck another car coming in the opposite direction. According to Orange Police, the woman identified as Brooke Dwarzen was driving south on Cannon Street. Suddenly for unidentified reasons her car swerved across the painted center divider near Lexington Avenue, and rammed head on into a black Ford Explorer. The impact was severe and Dwarzen died instantaneously.

According to the Orange County Register, the driver of the Ford Explorer was identified as 39-year-old Robert Saucedo of Anaheim, California. He was rushed to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, California with serious but not life-threatening injuries.

Police are not sure yet if speeding or alcohol played any part in the crash.

Speeding and intoxication are the two major causes of car accidents in this country. When a driver is burning rubber, it may be the most exhilarating feeling in the world, but his reaction time is dramatically reduced. The car is also subjected to increased stress. Because of the laws of physics, when an accident does occur, the extent of the damage is great, causing severe personal injury.

Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to lowered reaction levels and impaired judgment while driving. Drivers who drive under the influence not only put their own safety at risk, they also endanger the lives of everyone else who might be sharing the road with them.

If you've been involved in an auto accident where the other person was clearly at fault, you might be entitled to monetary compensation. The personal attorneys at The Reeves Law Group are experienced car accident injury lawyers. We have many years of experience handling car accident cases and winning compensation for our clients.

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