Blog Post

Fountain Valley Woman Faces Charges in Fatal Multi-Car Accident Case


June 16, 2008
Topic: Auto Accidents

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.


The California personal injury attorneys at The Reeves Law Group represent victims of accidents, injuries and wrongful death throughout California from our offices in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Diego County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Ventura County, Fresno County, Kern County, Sacramento County, San Fernando Valley, Long Beach, Antelope Valley, Torrance, Glendale, Bakersfield, Santa Ana, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Ontario, and Victorville.