California Injury Blog

Published on: January 10, 2009

Five-year-old Injured in Bakersfield Pedestrian Accident

By Brian Chase

Five-year-old Sterling Faulkner suffered major injuries in a January 7, 2009 Bakersfield pedestrian accident after he was struck by a drunk driver while crossing the street with his mother. According to this ABC news report, Sterling and his mother, Spring Faulkner, were crossing O Street just north of 34th Street when a white 1970s pickup truck struck him. Spring Faulkner was not injured.

The driver of the pickup, John T. Clark III, 45, fled the scene of the crash. Officers located the vehicle in a nearby parking lot and eyewitnesses identified it as the hit-and-run vehicle. Shortly afterwards, police arrested Clark when they received reports that he was attempting to steal another vehicle in the area. He was charged with felony DUI causing injury, felony hit-and-run with injury, DUI with priors and driving with a suspended license. If you witnessed this accident, please call the Bakersfield Police Department at 661-327-7111.

My heart goes out to this little boy who was injured in this horrible pedestrian accident as well as his mother who went through the nightmare of watching her child get hit by a vehicle. I wish little Sterling the very best for a quick and complete recovery. He will certainly be in my prayers.
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Published on: January 9, 2009

Orange County Pit Bull Attack Injures Couple and their Two Dogs

By Brian Chase

Retired Marine Douglas Perry, 58, of Anaheim, was forced to stab and kill a loose pit bull that attacked his wife, Vicki Perry, and their two dogs. Both Douglas and his wife were injured in the dog bite attack, which occurred when the couple was walking their two dogs – a Siberian husky and an American Eskimo – in the 2800 block of West Elmlawn Drive in Anaheim. Our source for this blog was this news report in The Orange County Register.

Douglas Perry said a black and white pit bull pounced on Vicki and their Siberian husky and they “were rolling in a ball on the ground.” The husky was seriously injured and had to undergo surgery, but is expected to survive. Douglas Perry then went into a neighbor’s house, got a kitchen knife and stabbed the pit bull two times. It was only then that the dog let go of its “prey,” staggered away, collapsed and died on the street.

My heart goes out to this couple. What a tough, emotional day for them! Douglas Perry says it was hard for him to kill the pit bull because he is a dog lover. I wish the couple a speedy and complete recovery from this brutal dog attack. I’m relieved that both their dogs survived this brutal attack.
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Published on: January 9, 2009

San Diego Mortuary Double-Sold Plots and Disrespected the Dead, Former Employee Says

By Brian Chase

A lawsuit from a former employee at Eternal Hills Cemetery and Mortuary accuses the mortuary of several disturbing practices including double-selling cemetery plots and permitting employees to look at deceased people whose bodies were brought in after horrendous accidents or suicides. The cemetery, which is the largest in Northern San Diego County, is owned by Houston-based Service Corp. International (SCI). Our source for this blog was this news report in the North County Times.

The former employee, Angela Maney-Sorrell, sued the company in October alleging that she was wrongfully terminated after pointing out problems at the funeral home. She had been an employee there for 21 years. Funeral home administrators have issued a statement saying that Maney-Sorrell is a “disgruntled employee” and have denied all the allegations.
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Published on: January 8, 2009

Man Killed in Altadena Auto Accident

By Brian Chase

A 22-year-old Rosemead man who died after his vehicle veered off a Los Angeles County roadway and rolled down an embankment in the Angeles National Forest has been identified as Simon Alexander Perez. According to this article the Los Angeles Daily News, the accident occurred January 5, 2009 on the Upper Big Tujunga Canyon west of Angeles Crest Highway. Perez was driving a 2007 Volkswagen west on Upper Big Tujunga Canyon Road when the vehicle veered left across the westbound lanes, crossed the edge of the roadway and struck a tree.

California Highway Patrol officials said the car continued down a dirt embankment and came to rest against some shrubs. A 21-year-old Sun Valley man, who was a passenger in the Volkswagen, suffered moderate injuries in the crash.

My heart goes out to the family of Simon Alexander Perez, who died in this tragic accident. I offer my deepest condolences to them.
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Published on: January 7, 2009

Bakersfield Girl Injured in Dog Attack

By Brian Chase

Drew Heredia, a 9-year-old boy is being hailed as a hero for saving a 12-year-old dog attack victim, who was bitten by a pit bull while walking her dog. According to this news report, Drew says he and his friend were walking a small dog on December 30, 2008 in their neighborhood when a pit bull jumped on the dog. The girl tried to save her dog when the pit bull turned on her and started attacking her.

Drew said he jumped on the pit bull and applied a choke hold that he learned while taking classes at a Brazilian jujitsu studio. The boy says he was scared, but did it anyway because it was the only way to save the girl from getting more seriously hurt. The girl, who was not identified, was taken to a local hospital and treated for puncture wounds. The pit bull was quarantined at the animal control office where it will be euthanized after 10 days. The owner of the pit bull is yet to be located. The girl’s dog was seriously injured, but is expected to survive.

This is a frightening dog attack, which could have turned from bad to worse in a split second. I commend young Drew Heredia for his bravery and presence of mind, but I also shudder to think about what could have happened in this case.
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Published on: January 6, 2009

Family Sues City and County of Los Angeles for Dangerous Roadway Condition

By Brian Chase

The family of 46-year-old Ernesto Beltran who died after losing control of his car and plummeting into a Los Angeles flood-control ditch is suing the city and the county for not building a barrier along the freeway he was driving on, according to this news report. Beltran’s family alleges in their wrongful death lawsuit that the city and county acted negligently when they failed to install the barrier along the stretch of the 110 Freeway where Beltran dropped into the Arroyo Seco Channel.

The lawsuit states that transit officials had recommended that the safety barrier be constructed at that location more than a year before Beltran’s fatal accident in February 2007. California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) officials say a $21-million plan to build a barrier in that section of the 110 Freeway is in the works and that construction of the barrier will begin in the spring.
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Published on: January 3, 2009

Woman Critically Injured in Buena Park Motorcycle Accident

By Brian Chase

A 48-year-old Orange County woman is in critical condition after she was injured in a motorcycle accident in Buena Park on December 30, 2008. According to this news report in The Orange County Register, the woman, who has not been identified, was traveling south on Artesia Boulevard when she lost control of her motorcycle and crashed into the median. The female motorcyclist was wearing a helmet, but suffered severe injuries in this accident.

I’m extremely relieved that this motorcycle accident victim did not suffer fatal injuries in this crash. The newspaper report calls it a “near-fatal” accident. I wish this critically injured victim the very best for a quick and complete recovery.

According to the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Reporting System (SWITRS), in Buena Park, there were no motorcycle accident related fatalities in 2006, but 32 injuries relating to motorcycle accidents. In Orange County as a whole, 26 deaths and 730 injuries were reported that year as a result of motorcycle accidents.
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Published on: January 2, 2009

Bicyclist Killed in Hemet Truck versus Bicycle Accident

By Brian Chase

Jacob Jack Martinez, 24, of Hemet, was killed in a bicycle accident on December 28, 2008 after a suspected drunk driver ran a red light and struck him. According to this news article in The Desert Sun, Keokialii Young, 21, was driving a pickup west on Florida Avenue when he ran a red light on Buena Vista Street and hit Martinez, who was riding his bike across the street in a marked crosswalk. Young then drove off the road into a planter. Martinez was taken to a local hospital where he died of his fatal injuries. Young was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and on manslaughter charges. The eyewitness to this tragic accident was an on duty Hemet police officer.

My heart goes out to the family of Jacob Martinez for their heartbreaking loss. I offer my deepest condolences to them.
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Published on: January 1, 2009

Man Killed in Bakersfield Bus versus Pedestrian Accident

By Brian Chase

Officials are looking at whether a Golden Empire Transit (GET) bus driver in Bakersfield was driving recklessly when she struck and killed 62-year-old James Tate who was walking in a marked crosswalk. According to this news report in the Bakersfield Californian, the accident occurred on December 26, 2008. The GET bus was traveling north on H Street when it turned left on to 24th Street and struck Tate, who was walking north in the crosswalk.
The bus driver was identified as 50-year-old Priscilla Martinez.

Bakersfield police officials who are investigating this tragic pedestrian accident are looking at whether Martinez should have seen and stopped for the pedestrian or whether Tate carelessly walked into the path of the moving bus. Traffic investigators are apparently reviewing videotapes of the fatal Bakersfield pedestrian accident as part of the investigation.
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Published on: January 1, 2009

Orange County Chain Reaction Crash Caused by Bedliner on Freeway Injures Three

By Brian Chase

Three people were hurt in a six-vehicle chain-reaction crash December 29, 2008 on the 57 Freeway south of Chapman Avenue in Placentia, which began when one of the drivers swerved to avoid a bedliner in the lanes. California Highway Patrol officials say that this was a bedliner that must have come flying out of a pickup truck because it wasn’t properly secured. Pickup truck bedliners often aren’t secured properly and come flying out on to freeways creating traffic hazards, CHP officials say. Our source for this blog was this news report in The Orange County Register. Two of the accident victims suffered moderate injuries and one person suffered minor injuries.

This is an accident that could have been a lot worse. I’m relieved that no one was seriously injured or killed in this Orange County freeway accident. I wish all the victims the very best for a speedy and complete recovery.
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