California Injury Blog
Seal Beach mom Cathy Busse was killed, and her 14-year-old son, Sam, suffered injuries in a Seal Beach bicycle accident on October 12, 2008 after a pickup truck struck them, The Orange County Register reports. This tragic 10/12/2008 bicycle accident occurred after the late model blue Ford pickup truck driving on Lampson Avenue east of Seal Beach Boulevard hit Cathy and Sam Busse.
Those who witnessed this horrific accident said mother and son were thrown 50 feet away from the point of impact, landing close to some bushes near the 405 Freeway. Officials are looking for witnesses to the collision to determine exactly what caused the bicycle accident and who was responsible for it.
My heart goes out to the family of Cathy Busse for their tragic loss. Sam Busse will be in my prayers. He not only suffered injuries, but the emotional trauma of seeing his mother struck and killed. According to the article, Cathy Busse was a “warrior mother,” whose autistic son, Sam, was her “biggest fan and best friend.”
In 2006, there were no bicycle accident related deaths in Seal Beach and 10 bicycle accident related injuries, according to statistics from California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Reporting System (SWITRS). In Orange County, there were a total of 22 bicycle accident fatalities and 1,005 bicycle accident related injuries during the same period.
There are many questions that need to be answered in this fatal Seal Beach bicycle accident. What caused the driver of the truck to lose control of his vehicle and strike the two bicyclists? Were speed, alcohol or dugs factors in this accident? Did the driver of the pickup truck suffer a medical condition that caused him to lose control of his truck? Was there a dangerous condition on the roadway that caused this collision?
Cathy Busse’s family would be well-advised to contact a reputed Orange County personal injury lawyer, who has experience investigating and handling bicycle accident cases. A skilled California bicycle accident attorney will also examine the Seal Beach roadway to see if there was a dangerous condition that might have caused the fatal accident.
Under the provisions of California Government Code section 835, a public entity is liable for damages of a person injured or killed because of a hazardous condition on the public property when the injured person proves that:
- There was a dangerous condition on the public property at the time of injury
- The injury was proximately caused by the dangerous condition
- The dangerous condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of injury of the kind that occurred
California Government Code Section 911.2 also states that a personal injury claim against a governmental agency must be properly filed within six months of the date of injury.