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Recently, I heard from Kim Smith, the mother of a young man who suffered severe brain injuries in an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accident three years ago. Kim kindly agreed to share her story through our blog as a way of warning parents and teens, especially, not to take ATVs for granted. B.J. Smith’s story is an example of how “one fun ride” can change your life forever.

On a sunny afternoon while vacationing at his uncle’s house in Texas, B.J. decided to take his uncle’s new ATV for a spin although he and his cousins had been told never to go near the 350 c.c., 386-pound machine unsupervised. B.J. reached nearly 60 mph on the ATV when a dog ran out unexpectedly and clipped the front wheel of the ATV. He was thrown 25 feet from the point of impact. B.J. had no helmet on and slammed his head on the sidewalk with full force. Blood poured from his nose, eyes, ears and mouth. He was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital “dead on arrival” after having celebrated his 15th birthday only six weeks before this nightmarish incident.

B.J. spent the first three weeks after the accident in a coma. His parents were told that the boy had only a 10 percent chance of survival. He spent five months in the hospital having suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, broken collar bone and ribs, punctured lung, lacerated liver and injuries to his arms, legs and back. The 6-foot, 225-pound boy, who was an avid athlete and a gym rat, was now relearning to walk, talk, eat, bathe and dress. He had very little memory of life before the accident. His parents were told right away that B.J would need 24/7 care for the rest of his life. Kim Smith says she recalled the words of Michael Paul Mason who best described the aftermath of a traumatic brain injury; it “strikes with the concussive ferocity of a bomb; woe to those near its epicenter”. B. J. Smith and his family lived through such a catastrophe.

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B.J.’s personality changed dramatically. There were days when he was docile and gentle, giving hugs and showing a need for affection. But on most days, he had emotional outbursts and crying tantrums, cursing wildly and sometimes turning physically violent. Nothing could have prepared his family for such grief and heartbreak. Doctors recommended that family members tell the teen stories from his childhood to offer comfort and remind him of his beautiful life prior to the ATV accident.
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A 26-year-old worker at Ceradyne’s Irvine facility was critically injured in an industrial accident after being hit with flying shrapnel on November 22, 2008, The Orange County Register reports. The worker, who remains unidentified, suffered traumatic injuries to his head and body and remains in the hospital in “gravely critical condition”. This 11/22/08 Irvine construction accident happened on the 17000 block of Daimler Street.

According to initial reports from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), a machine at Ceradyne’s facility failed causing the flying shrapnel to hit the worker in the abdomen, thigh and the head. Costa Mesa based Ceradyne develops and manufactures “advanced technical ceramic products and components for defense, industrial, automotive, nuclear, electronic and medical markets,” according to the company’s Web site.

This is a tragic accident and my heart goes out to this worker and his family. I pray for his speedy and complete recovery.
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A 23-year-old La Verne man who died in a vehicle rollover accident on Highway 18 on November 22, 2008, has been identified as Timothy Richard Dewhurst, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports. Dewhurst, a passenger, was ejected from the 2003 Subaru station wagon when it rolled over near the westbound side of Highway 18 near Orchard Drive. He suffered severe injuries and was transported to a local hospital where he later died.

My heart goes out to the family of Timothy Richard Dewhurst, who died in this tragic rollover accident. Please keep his family in your prayers.

Rollover accidents are among the most common and most catastrophic types of crashes that occur on our roadways today. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 10,000 people are killed and more than 24,000 people suffer catastrophic injuries in rollover crashes every year in the United States.
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Four construction workers were injured in a Northridge scaffolding collapse accident on November 21, 2008, according to this CBS news report. The construction accident occurred at the four-story Village apartment complex that was under construction on the 9300 block of Corbin Avenue.

Investigators from the California Department of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA) are looking into how and why this accident occurred. They are apparently looking into whether all procedures were followed and whether the workers were wearing harnesses at the time of the accident. The men, who have not been identified, took a three-story fall. One man was critically injured, two others suffered moderate injuries and one suffered minor injuries.

It is indeed a relief this 11/21/08 construction site scaffolding accident did not end in fatalities and I wish all four of these workers the very best for a speedy and complete recovery. It is sad that these were just hard-working men who were injured because of someone else’s negligence.
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Five people were injured in a Metrolink versus freight train collision in Rialto on November 20, 2008 – the second such accident in less then three months. The 11/20/08 crash was far less serious than the catastrophic head-on collision in Chatsworth in September that killed 25 and injured hundreds. According to this Los Angeles Times news report, Thursday’s accident occurred at about 11:30 a.m. when an eastbound Metrolink train hit the end of a westbound Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway train. The freight train was pulling onto a siding from a main track just west of the Rialto train station when the accident occurred.

Five passengers were sent to local hospitals with complaints of pain. Officials are still trying to figure out how this collision could have happened. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad officials say their engineer had been given the go-ahead either by a signal or a Metrolink dispatcher. The freight train was traveling from Barstow to Rialto. The Metrolink locomotive sideswiped the 96th car of the 102 cars on the freight train. In the Chatsworth crash, investigators determined that the engineer had missed the signal most likely because he was texting some young train enthusiasts, seconds before the head-on collision.
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This week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued a new rule governing the number of hours that commercial truck drivers can drive each day. These are known as the truck drivers’ hours-of-service. What’s special about this new rule? In my opinion – nothing. The so-called new standard is in fact identical to the previous two rules that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia struck down last year and in 2004, according to the Public Citizen, which challenged those ineffective regulations.

The new FMCSA’s rule authorizes truckers to drive 11 consecutive hours with 34 hour restart provisions. Under the rule, drivers may continue to work a physically and mentally exhausting 77 hours behind the wheel of a big rig over a seven-day period. They may then take 34 hours off and then hit the road to start all over again. In addition to all that time they are allowed to drive, they can be required to work 14 hours a day, which includes loading and unloading cargo. This new rule also fails to require electronic on-board recorders that are very much needed to assure that the rule is effectively enforced.
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Erik Sanchez, 30, was killed in an Anaheim industrial accident on November 17, 2008 when an 18-wheeler pinned him against a loading dock at a refrigerating storage facility, The Orange County Register reports. The fatal 11/17/08 on-the-job accident occurred at VersaCold Logistics in Anaheim.

Sanchez did not work for VersaCold but was a pest control worker doing his job around the exterior of the facility. Anaheim police officials say Sanchez was walking below a loading dock as the 18-wheeler was backing up into the dock to pick up a load of food. Sanchez did not see the truck backing up and was crushed against the dock. Sanchez died from massive head trauma. The California Department of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA) is investigating this incident.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family of Eric Sanchez. It is indeed a horrible tragedy. Here was a man trying to do his job and earn a living and a moment of inattention on someone’s part cost him his life. It’s heartbreaking!
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This week the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) issued a statement supporting the long-due amendment of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. The amendment would require motorcycle manufacturers to install antilock braking systems (ABS) in all motorcycles. The changes, proposed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in September, will create minimum performance standards that have been tested successfully in other parts of the world. It will also keep motorcycles with unsafe brakes from being sold in the United States.

According to IIHS statistics, both the rate of fatal motorcycle accidents and the frequency for which insurance collision claims are filed are lower among motorcycles with ABS compared with the same motorcycles without ABS. The IIHS study shows 6.7 fatal crashes per 10,000 registered vehicle years among motorcycles not equipped with ABS during the year 2005-2006. For motorcycles equipped with ABS that number was much lower at 4.1.
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Santiago Aguilar, a 27-year-old man, was killed in a bicycle versus big rig accident on November 14, 2008 in La Puente, the Pasadena Star News reports. The 11/14/08 crash occurred at the intersection of Valley Boulevard and 7th Avenue, California Highway Patrol officials said.

Aguilar was riding his bicycle eastbound on the sidewalk on the south side of Valley Boulevard before the crash. The Peterbilt truck was eastbound on the street as well.
Eyewitnesses told CHP officials that Aguilar was riding through the intersection on a green light about the same time the driver of the big rig made a right turn from Valley Boulevard on to 7th Avenue. Aguilar hit the back of the truck’s trailer and was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. CHP officials are asking that anyone with more information about this crash call their Baldwin Park office at 626-338-1164.

My heart goes out to the family of Santiago Aguilar for their tragic loss. Please keep them in your prayers.
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Eight people were taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries after they were injured in an amusement park escalator accident at Universal Studios on November 17, 2008, the Los Angeles Daily News reports. The accident occurred at the theme park at 3900 Lankershim Boulevard after the escalator started to suddenly malfunction. Park officials said the escalator, which connects two levels of the park, came to sudden stop and for unknown reasons went into reverse, throwing visitors off their feet and down the stairwell. The malfunctioning escalator was also situated on a hillside.

It is fortunate that there were no serious injuries as a result of this escalator malfunction. I hope the injuries described in this newspaper article as “minor” were in fact minor and wish the injured victims the very best for a speedy recovery.
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