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Dangerous Road Kills Three in Kings County
June 11, 2008

A tragic car accident has claimed the lives of three teenagers in Hanford, California. The three teens, 17-year-old Carlos Sigala Jr., 17-year-old Cory Kennedy and 18-year-old Jesus Rios had graduated from Hanford West High School just six days ago. Their car apparently plunged into a canal as the trio were heading east on Jersey Avenue, and landed upside down

The timing of the accident is not clear; but officers were called early on Tuesday morning. There, they found the car lying upside down. They found the three dead teenagers still trapped inside. The accident has sent the town of Hanford into mourning. Students of Hanford West High School and recent graduates of the school who were the classmates of the three kids, held a candlelight vigil for them, and many gathered to hold an impromptu memorial service.

No details of the investigation are available yet, but alcohol and drugs seem to have played no part in this car accident. The culprit most sections of the media have focused on is the dangerous road itself. The road which has no protective barrier separating it from the canal is full of hairpin bends, locals say.

At the bend where the car plunged into the canal, there is a single sign that cautions about the bend, but that's easy to miss. One police officer says that if you took your eyes off the road for even a second, there was a very good chance you could end up in water. Add to this the fact that we don't know when the accident occurred - it is entirely possible that it took place at night when visibility is low. Warning cones that serve to warn motorists on this dangerous road are also few.

In other words, the road has not been designed with any consideration for safety of motorists. Looking at video footage of the scene of the car accident, it's hardly surprising that a car could easily lose control at a hairpin bend, and plunge into the deep waters. There is no wall of any sort, and it's simply too easy for accidents to take place on such a dangerous road. The driver of the car, Carlos Sigada Jr., whose family also owned the 2001 Hyundai he was driving, most probably missed the dangerous curve, sending his car flying off the road.

Kennedy, Sigada and Rios, their friends and family remember, were full of life and enthusiasm, and were active participants in high school. All three had plans for college. Corey was her mother's only child. Carlos worked after hours at his family owned restaurant. Their families and they had so much to look forward to. When an accident like this snuffs out three lives in seconds, it is not just tragic, but criminal. The families should seriously consider taking civil action against the county for their negligence in providing road safety for motorists on this dangerous road.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of dangerous roads. 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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Mother Files Lawsuit In Centerville, Indiana Drowning Case
April 09, 2008

You could argue that enough has been done to rectify the errors that led to 17-year-old Centerville, Indiana teenager Trey Kidwell's death. Signs have been planted warning people that what they think is a road, is actually a boat ramp that ends directly at the lake - the very same lake in which Trey drowned.

But, signage and warnings are all meaningless if they've appeared only after three people have lost their lives at the very same spot. There is still more that needs to be done, and now a lawsuit filed by Trey's mother, Teresa Throop, aims to do exactly that - it charges the state of Indiana and Union County with negligence in his death.

The incident occurred on the night of June 2. 2007. Trey Kidwell and a friend, Robert Sharpe, found themselves lost as they drove near Brookville Lake. They got onto a road that was poorly lit. It was 11:20 pm and visibility was poor. By the time the boys realized that what they thought was a badly-lit road was actually a boat ramp, it was too late. The car plunged into the water. Sharpe managed to extricate himself and swim to safety. Trey drowned. When emergency services arrived at the scene later, they found his body with the car totally submerged under water.

When the accident took place all that the road had to show that there was a possibly dangerous ramp ahead, were two signs that read "Road Ends", a rumble strip on the ramp and a light at the edge of the water. That was about all the warning the boys got. Essentially, by the time the boys could see where they were - by the light at the edge of the ramp - they were already too close to the water to avoid a plunge.

Shockingly, this was far from the first accident that had claimed lives at the exact same boat ramp. Since 1999, three people, including Trey, have lost their lives at the exact same spot. The Lake has three other ramps, but the Fairfield Ramp from which Trey's car plunged into the water is the only one to have had deaths associated with it. The first incident happened in 1999, when a 20-year-old man died after the car he was in drove off the ramp. Then in 2006, a businessman from Crowne Point drowned in the exact same manner - driving his car off the ramp. All three accidents happened at night.

Besides the state of Indiana and Union County, the Indiana Department of Transportation and the Indiana department of State Services are also named in the lawsuit which claims damages of $500,000.

This isn't about money though. This is about focusing attention on the state's negligence. It's shameful that three people had to be killed before more prominent signage was posted at the spot of the accident. Teresa Throop would rather have her only child back with her safe and sound, instead of having to file a lawsuit to keep the focus on the cause of her son's death.

If you have been injured or a loved one has been killed due to a dangerous road, 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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Minneapolis Bridge Collapse Lawsuits Being Filed
January 23, 2008

Last summer's bridge collapse in Minneapolis impacted hundreds of lives. Those who were killed died in one the most unimaginably horrible ways possible. Those they left behind have grappled to come to terms with the enormity and the senselessness of what happened. Now, close to six months later, families of victims are preparing for their chance at justice. Relatives of kids killed when a school bus returning from a field trip collapsed as the bridge gave way, are just some among many who have filed the preliminary paperwork for legal action against the state. The law requires that preliminary forms be filled out within 180 days of the incident, but experts say it's not necessary in this case.

According to Delaware Online, as of Friday, at least 73 lawsuits have been filed by victims and their families. All the lawsuits involve very personal and scarring memories of the bridge collapse which stunned the country. Tina Hickman who was 8 months pregnant at the time of the collapse, slipped into a coma and had her baby boy delivered by C-section. Her medical bills alone for the month she was in coma were around $125,000. Add to that the pain and trauma of being pregnant and suffering in a bridge collapse that can only be blamed on state negligence, and the lawsuit figure hovers closer to $500,000.

The state of Minnesota is protected by a statute which limits its liability to $1 million per accident, but lawmakers are considering a compensation fund for those who give up the right to sue the state.

Most of the claims accuse the state of negligence. For the survivors, their legal proceedings are being hampered by the slow pace of investigations and their lack of access to any findings. The National Transportation Safety Board will present its report in the fall.

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

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More Needs to be Done to Make Moreno Valley Intersection Safer
December 19, 2007

When residents in the neighborhood near the intersection of Redlands Boulevard and Locust Avenue hear tires screeching, they cringe and wait for the sound of metal against metal to come. In this deadly Moreno Valley intersection, that sound has been heard more and more often in recent months.

In the past 13 months alone, three persons have died in accidents while many other near misses have been reported. The problem was so severe that local leaders requested the city of Moreno Valley to step in and install a traffic signal.

But the Moreno Valley officials in all their wisdom decided that the stretch "did not meet the criteria" for a traffic signal. They did make cosmetic changes however. The yellow lines were restriped to create left turns for both sides of the intersection, and pavement markers were raised to make them more visible to motorist especially in the night.

But residents say more needs to be done. On August 9, 52-year-old Stephen Patrick Morrow and 47-year-old John Anderson were killed in an accident at the intersection. In November last year, 36-year-old Harry Smith died when he lost control of his vehicle at the intersection.

According to residents, motorists who approach the intersection tend to accelerate to compensate for the time they lose in traffic in the Canyon. According to local councilman Frank West, the Redlands Boulevard and Locust Avenue intersection isn't the only one with a high risk factor. The Moreno Beach Drive has seen twenty seven accidents in the past three years.

One hopes red tape and bureaucratic hurdles don't take precedence over road safety and common sense, and that these design flaws are corrected before more lives are lost.

If you've been injured in an accident, you'll need the expertise of an experienced team of dangerous roadway attorneys. Call the California dangerous highway lawyers at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

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Girls family Wins $8.5 Million Settlement in Wrongful Death Case
October 24, 2007

A drunken driver and Pima County will have to pay a combined $8.5 million dollars to the family of a young girl killed in a crossing accident.

The settlement comes in the case of Ebonee Moody, who was 14-years-old when a vehicle driven by Mike Ellsworth Baker collided with her as she crossed the street with a friend. She died on August 1, 2004.

Soon after the tragic accident, Baker was found guilty of driving under the influence and sentenced to 11 years for manslaughter, a term he is currently serving. His blood alcohol levels at the time of the accident were found to be between 0.18 and 0.24 when the accident occurred.

The Moody family lawyer however claimed that Pine County was equally at fault in the accident due to dangerous highway conditions. The roadway conditions and visibility at the time of the accident were bad and there should have been additional signage and street lighting, they claimed. County attorneys refuted that claim, saying there was no evidence that Moody had any difficulty crossing the road that fateful day. They also pointed out that there were no similar accidents on that stretch of road in the preceding years. But on Friday the Pima County Superior Court jury delivered its verdict - $5 million in punitive damages and $4 million in compensatory damages. 13 percent of the compensatory damages were to be paid by the County with the remaining falling on Baker.

An accident can happen when you're least prepared. But that doesn't mean you're not eligible for some compensation after the event. If you've been involved in an accident or have lost a loved one in one, you might not even be aware that you're entitled to financial compensation. Consult the experienced California accident attorneys at The Reeves Law Group to learn how to protect your rights.

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Minnesota Bridge was Rated Structurally Deficient for 17 Years
August 03, 2007

No sooner had we recovered from the shock of the interstate highway bridge collapse in Minneapolis than we received the news that the bridge had been declared "structurally deficient" as far back as 1990. Over the years, Minnesota Department of Transportation engineers found corroded bearing and stress fractures, but deemed the bridge safe enough for traffic. It was far from safe, it seems now.

The bridge, the busiest in Minnesota collapsed during the evening rush hour with hundreds of people on board. Cars plunged into the Mississippi River, including a school bus carrying 60 children back home. The death toll stands at 4 but with more than 30 still missing, is expected to rise. Although an investigation into the collapse has been launched, it will be at least a year before we can expect any findings to come out.

The State of California's Bridges

According to Sign on San Diego, Federal Highway Administration data analysis reveals that of the 50 most heavily trafficked bridges deemed structurally deficient in the country, 38 are in the southern California region - 32 in Los Angeles, 5 in Orange County and 1 in Riverside County. In another alarming statistic, structurally deficient bridges in these 3 counties alone are used for over 27 million crossings each day!

At least half of California's deficient bridges are owned by the state and of these, 27 in the southern California region alone have increased degrees of structural flaws that we need to be concerned about. Officials however seem to be displaying a lackadaisical approach to bridge safety in California, insisting that there is no cause for alarm, and that the Minnesota bridge collapse was a rare occurrence.

In the wake of the bridge collapse, Caltrans officials have begun emergency check ups of California's deficient bridges. Riverside County's Department of Transportation director said that plans were on to replace at least 3 deficient bridges in the county.

In the nation's capital buzzing with election year activity, the usual lip service is being paid to increased safety concerns with one senator huffing pompously that a bridge "should not collapse in America!"

But it did, and lives have been lost. Victim's families in coming days are likely to ask questions. And they deserve answers.

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