California Injury Blog

Published on: July 9, 2008

Fatal Lake Havasu Boating Accident Kills Two

By Brian Chase

A fatal boating accident at Lake Havasu during the July 4th holiday weekend claimed two lives, according to a news report in the Havasu News. Tiffany Breslin, 14, of Murrieta and another unidentified 19-year-old woman died in the collision between a boat and a personal watercraft near the Needles Bridge. Officials are still looking into what caused the boating accident.

My condolences to the families of these two young women. Out on the river to have a good time and a horrible accident like this happens. If the families want to know their rights and options or just want the wrongdoers held accountable, they would be well served consulting with California boating accident lawyers with a history of boating accident cases.

My family often takes our personal watercraft, SeaDoos, to this very spot to spin, jump and skid across the water in this less trafficked, calmer water area. Usually the area up and down river from the Needles Bridge is a much safer area than down river around Lake Havasu City or up river in the Laughlin/Bullhead City area.
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Published on: July 9, 2008

Rialto Family Struck Down In A Bicycling vs Auto Accident

By Brian Chase

A Rialto auto accident on the 200 block of Willow Ave. near Rialto Ave., caused by a speeding drunk driver in a Honda Sport Utility Vehicle has killed a 2-year-old girl and seriously wounded her family, according to a news article in The Daily Bulletin.

Phelan resident Rolando Astorga, 27-years-old was intoxicated when he hit the Rialto family of four who had been riding their bicycles on the sidewalk, said Rialto Police Lt. Joe Cirilo. He was fleeing from an earlier accident when he hit a median, lost control of his vehicle and struck the family. The 2-year-old girl and her 28-year-old father William Dinoso Dean were taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. The mother, Glenda Brooks, 26 and her 1-year-old son were taken to Loma Linda University Medical Center.

What a senseless and horrific situation for this young family. Please keep them in your prayers and your hearts.

Alcohol-impaired driving is a huge problem. Typically drunk-driving incidents are at a high around the July 4th holiday. California Highway Patrol. (CHP) San Bernardino County had 25 Driving Under the Influence (DUI) fatalities in July of 2006 (last year available). The total number of San Bernardino County DUI accident deaths was 152 with nearly 2,000 injured in 2006.
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Published on: July 7, 2008

Seven-year-old Day Camper Nearly Drowns in Pasadena Pool

By Brian Chase

A 7-year-old boy participating in a Altadena day camp program nearly drowned in the John Muir High School pool on Tuesday, July 1, 2008 according to a report in the Pasadena Star News.

The day campers were spending the day at the high school’s pool when a lifeguard spotted the boy in the water. A lifeguard pulled him out and CPR was immediately administered. When paramedics arrived the boy had a pulse but was not breathing on his own.

Let’s all keep this little guy in our prayers for a full recovery. Many near drowning victims suffer brain damage due to lack of oxygen to the brain. Let’s hope this boy and his parents suffer nothing more than a horrendous scare.

Swimming pool drownings in Southern California are nothing new. What is unique about this near drowning is that it happened at a public pool with life guards on duty and with, supposed, professional supervision. In California there are nearly twice as many drownings in backyard pools than in all other pools combined.
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Published on: July 6, 2008

Mission Viejo Man Fatally Injured in PCH Motorcycle Accident

By Brian Chase

A Newport Coast motorcycle accident near Reef Point Drive killed a 34-year-old man last Sunday night, according to a news article in The Orange County Register.

Mario Frassetto of Mission Viejo was riding a 2000 Yamaha motorcycle southbound on the Pacific Coast Highway when he veered to the right and hit a guardrail, reportedly for unknown reasons according to the news article’s source, the California Highway Patrol (CHP). Officer Denise Quesada of the CHP reportedly said Frassetto was thrown off by the impact and died at the scene of the crash.

I offer my condolences to the Frassetto family and friends.

According to a study reported by the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety (), five crash types account for 86 percent of fatal motorcycle crashes: motorcycle runs off road (41 percent), motorcycle or other vehicle runs traffic control (18 percent), head on (11 percent), car turns in front of motorcycle (8 percent), and motorcycle goes down in roadway (7 percent) According to the CHP statistics, 26 people died and 730 were injured in motorcycle accidents in Orange County in 2006.
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Published on: July 5, 2008

Motorcycle Collides With Riverside Public Works Truck

By Brian Chase

A Riverside motorcycle intersection accident near Jurupa Avenue and Van Buren Boulevard killed its rider, according to a report posted on instantRiverside.com.

Rialto resident, Michael Martinez, 57, was in a 1999 Dodge Ram 2500 pick-up truck when he collided with Mira Loma motorcyclist Jeremy Sadach, 26. Sadach died shortly after at the Riverside Community Hospital. Martinez an employee of the City of Riverside’s Public Works Department was uninjured.

My heartfelt condolences to the Sadach family for their tragic loss.

Motorcycle accidents in Riverside County have caused 29 fatalities and 487 injuries in 2006. The 25-34 years-old age group represented the third largest age group for California motorcycle accident fatalities in 2006. This data is available at the California Highway Patrol’s Web site.
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Published on: July 3, 2008

Santa Ana Big Rig Accident Takes Teen Bicyclist’s Life

By Brian Chase

A Santa Ana big rig accident at the four-way stop intersection of Saint Andrew Place and Poplar Street has killed a 14-year-old boy riding his bike in the crosswalk, according to a news article in The Orange County Register.

Santa Ana police Cpl. Jose Gonzalez said Santa Ana resident Pedro Martinez, 51, was headed west on Saint Andrew Place in a big rig tractor when he hit Esteban Nunez. Nunez reportedly was riding his bicycle southbound in the northbound lane of Poplar and had entered the street intersection without stopping at the stop sign. The boy, a resident of that neighborhood, was not wearing a helmet when he was hit by the moving big rig and dragged under. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

This is such a tragic and heart wrenching accident. Please keep the boy and his family in your prayers.

The Insurance Institute For Highway Safety (IIHS) estimates that 770 bicyclists were killed in crashes with motor vehicles in 2006. The most serious injuries among the majority of those killed are to the head, highlighting the importance of wearing a bicycle helmet. In Santa Ana there were four bicyclist fatalities and 107 injuries in 2006. This data comes from the California Highway Patrol.
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Published on: July 3, 2008

Houston Swimming Pool Accident Kills Toddler

By Brian Chase

Emilio Morales, a 3-year-old boy drowned in a recent swimming pool accident at a southwest Houston apartment complex, according to a news report in The Houston Chronicle.

The Missouri City boy and his family were reported to have been with friends at the apartments in the 2800 block of Rolido Drive, when the accident happened. Morales was wearing a floatation device in the swimming pool, with his family nearby. But he seemed to have slipped out of the device and drowned unnoticed, said the police. Morales was later pronounced dead at Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital.

My heart goes out to the Morales family for their tragic loss. Houston is typical of other Sunbelt cities with a plenty of public and residential swimming pools. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has found that about 350 children under the age of 5 drown in swimming pools each year and for the Sunbelt states drowning is the leading cause of death for young children.
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Published on: July 2, 2008

Devore Semi Truck Accident Injures Man on I-15

By Brian Chase

A San Bernardino County semi truck accident on Interstate 15 near Devore has critically injured a man who was apparently run over by his own car after it was hit by a large truck on Wednesday, June 25th, according to a news article in The Press-Enterprise.

California Highway Patrol Officer Charles Murray, said the accident happened on the northbound side of the Interstate 15 freeway near Glen Helen Road. The driver of a disabled car had gotten out and pushed it backwards from the shoulder to get to an off-ramp. He had ended up in the slow lane of the freeway when a semi truck struck the car from behind, catching him under its trailer. The truck then dragged the car before hitting the center median of the freeway.

The unidentified driver of the compact car was taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center with major injuries. The semi truck driver had pain complaints and was treated at the scene.

San Bernardino County suffers about twice as many large truck injury accidents than the statewide average, based upon population. In 2006 California experienced 7,307 large truck injury accidents, compared to 703 for San Bernardino County. I attribute the number of large truck injury accidents in San Bernardino to its size and heavy truck traffic compared to its relatively small population for its geographical size. These statistics are from the California Highway Patrol.
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Published on: July 1, 2008

Los Feliz Postal Truck Accident Kills Mail Carrier

By Brian Chase

A Los Angeles car-postal truck collision near the intersection of Hyperion and Lyric Avenue killed a mail carrier recently, according to a report in The Press Telegram.

Los Angeles police Officer Sara Faden said Downey resident Maria F. Gutierrez, 30, was in her postal truck going south on Hyperion when a car going east on Lyric Avenue ran into the truck’s right rear, causing it to overturn. Gutierrez was ejected and the truck rolled-over, crushing her. The three passengers of the other car were unhurt while its driver was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

My deepest condolences to the Gutierrez family and the friends of Maria Gutierrez. Remember Maria was on the streets delivering mail, serving all of us when this fatal Los Angeles truck accident happened.

California suffered 1,293 light truck accident fatalities in 2006. Of that number 66 fatalities occured in Los Angeles according to the California Highway Patrol statistics.
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Published on: June 30, 2008

City of Industry Big Rig Accident Kills Man

By Brian Chase

Julio Alas, 42 of Norwalk was killed and his passenger, 40-year-old Salvador Pena of Los Angeles, suffered serious injuries in a fiery big-rig rollover accident on the 60 Freeway in the City of Industry on July 4th according to the Pasadena Star News. The fatal truck accident occurred east of Fairway Drive, according to California Highway Patrol Officer D. Hogge.

Alas was driving his big-rig in the No. 3 lane when a 1991 Toyota pickup truck driven by 47-year-old May Figueroa of La Puenta suddenly made an unsafe turning movement directly into the path of Alas’ big-rig. While Figueroa and her passenger, Antoinette Monroy, 49, of La Puente, only suffered minor injuries, the big rig caught on fire. Figueroa is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail although it is not clear on what charges she is being held.

My condolences go to the family and friends of Mr. Alas. It appears that the truck accident was not his fault and that he was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. His family and Salvador Pena have substantial workers’ compensation rights as well as “third party” rights against the driver of the Toyota, assuming that Figueroa is responsible for this accident.
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