California Injury Blog

A 13-year-old boy in Martinez, Calif. was killed when be was struck by a teenage driver at a busy and apparently dangerous intersection as he was riding his bicycle. According to a news article in CBS News’ Web site, the boy, identified as Tommy Choi, sustained major injuries and was rushed to the hospital where he died an hour after the accident.

The boy was reportedly riding his bike back from school on the busy street, which had a speed limit of 35 mph. The driver who hit the boy was a 16-year-old. Drugs or alcohol don’t seem to be a factor but we don’t know yet if the driver was speeding or was distracted in some other way. The teen driver has not been cited or charged yet.

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A Modesto man is suspected of driving under the influence, hitting a bicyclist and then leading police on a six-mile pursuit. At the end of the chase, 29-year-old Emiliano Maldonado Jr. was arrested. The 51-year-old bicyclist, whom Maldonado allegedly struck, dragged and then left on the street, suffered severe injuries in the hit-and-run accident, but is expected to survive, the Modesto Bee newspaper reports.

According to officials, the bicyclist was following the rules of the road and was using his hands to signal as he headed North on Crows Landing Road Friday morning. He was trying to merge across traffic when the pickup driven by Maldonado hit him. Maldonado then reportedly made a U-turn dragging the bicyclist under the truck. However, the bicyclist managed to break free and Maldonado fled the scene. Police suspect Maldonado was driving under the influence. Officials are looking for more eyewitnesses who saw the bicycle accident.

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A 17-year-old boy is in the hospital with major, but non-life threatening, injuries after he was struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bicycle in Artesia, according to a CBS News report. The report states that the victim, whose name has not been released, and two other boys were riding their bicycles near South Street when a car sideswiped the back of the victim’s bicycle causing him to hit the pavement.

The driver of that older red Honda compact car reportedly never stopped. Officials, who are investigating this bicycle accident, suspect the Honda would have visible damage in the front. The teen is now in an area hospital recovering from his injuries. The article does not go into too much detail about what type of injuries the boy suffered although it states clearly that his life is not in danger.

Hit and run accidents have become way too common for comfort in Southern California. How does someone believe it’s OK to hit someone with their vehicle and then drive away as if nothing happened? It’s inhumane, unethical and outrageous. This is a tough time for the victim’s family that must be facing medical bills and hospital expenses on top of the trauma of having a loved one being involved in an accident.

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Two bicyclists were killed and one other suffered major injuries when they were reportedly struck by a Santa Clara sheriff’s patrol car that crossed the double yellow line and hit a group of riders in Cupertino, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The newspaper also reports that a good Samaritan who stopped to help the injured bicyclists said the deputy told him that he had fallen asleep at the wheel. The bicycle accident claimed the lives of two young, avid bikers – Matt Peterson, 30, of San Francisco and Kristy Gough, 31 of Oakland.

A 20-year-old man from Germany identified as Christopher Knapp was also seriously injured but was reportedly in stable condition. A fourth rider was not hurt, the newspaper reported. California Highway Patrol officials say there is no evidence that the 27-year-old Sheriff’s Deputy, James Council, fell asleep at the wheel or that drugs or alcohol were involved. So, apparently, CHP did not even take a blood sample from this deputy although according to another county sergeant, their department routinely tests blood samples from any employee involved in a major accident.

CHP officials also say that the deputy crossed the double yellow line into oncoming traffic and struck the group of bikers. So what caused him to cross the double yellow line and what caused the deputy to seem disoriented? Officials don’t have the answers to those questions yet.

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The Shasta County District Attorney has decided not to file charges in the fatal bicycle accident case where a bicyclist was struck and killed by a car on Highway 299 in Redding two months ago. According to a news article in the Redding Record Searchlight, Sherry Mann, 58 was riding her bicycle east on the highway when Morgan Watkins, 21, drifted over to the shoulder and hit Mann while reaching into the back seat to get a baby bottle.

But district attorney’s officials have decided against filing criminal charges against Watkins because they say there is little or no physical evidence in the case and no eyewitnesses. It also seems as if Mann’s husband influenced the DA’s decision not to try Watkins on misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charges. Officials say that without specific evidence about where the impact occurred, it is tough to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Watkins drifted over the fog line and hit Mann.

The DA’s decision has local bicyclists worried and angry. Of course, it is disturbing to many when a life is lost and the person who apparently caused the death walks away from it, uninjured and without facing any consequences. But Mann’s husband, Russell, told the newspaper that he doesn’t believe the driver deliberately hit his wife and that she probably paid a hefty price for a small mistake. He says he doesn’t believe her mistake warranted a criminal charge.

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A 28-year-old female driver was arrested in Hemet on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence after she fatally struck a bicyclist on a city street, the local NBC news station reports. The 38-year-old bicyclist was reportedly riding on North Yale Street at about 8 p.m. Dec. 9 when the accident occurred, police told Channel 4.

The driver, Desiree Bliss, told officers that she was “distracted by something behind her” and turned to look back. She said she hit Danny Walton just as she turned her attention back to the road. Walton was taken to Hemet Valley Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead a few hours later.

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A jury on Friday awarded $12.5 million to a Thousand Oaks family of a local bicyclist who was hit and killed by a woman whose eyesight was impaired by cataracts, according to an Associated Press news report. The family of the deceased man Glenn Garvin, 49, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the 82-year-old driver, the report said.

Norma Seigel was reportedly driving a new Lexus Sept. 16, 2006, when she struck Garvin from behind. Garvin was riding in the bicycle lane. According to the lawsuit Seigel had not only recently found out that she had cataracts in both eyes, but had also been involved in a rear-end crash six months before this fatal crash.

Garvin’s widow, Pamela, told reporters that her late husband was a city traffic safety commissioner who educated people about bicycle safety. Seigel reportedly acknowledged even before the trial that she was responsible for Garvin’s death.

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A white Toyota Camry struck Jessie Possehl, 15, while he rode bicycle home around 3:00 p.m. Wednesday. Jessie was riding with his brother, 14-year-old Alex Possehl, who was coming home from summer school when the accident occurred. Alex witnessed the collision as the Toyota Camry came around a bend in the 21000 block of River Road in Perris, California and hit his brother head on, according to a report on the Press-Enterprise website.

According to the news report after the bicycle accident, the Camry was left in the middle of River Road and the driver fled on foot, leaving Jessie in the road, according to California Highway Patrol officials. The CHP suspect a local man in his 20s, the son of the owner of the Camry. Investigators are hoping he will turn himself in although they are looking for him.

Jessie died at Inland Regional Medical Center a few hours after the accident. He had been wearing a helmet. Jessie was well liked and fondly remembered.

Please keep Jessie, his family, especially his brother Alex in our prayers and send them good wishes.

Continue reading "Fatal Hit-And-Run Auto/Bicycle Accident" »

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